%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
The adventures of Mogo the Caveman in his quest for the meaning of life |
| [Introduction] ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Mogo was a pretty smart guy but he had the feeling that a lot was lacking in his social environment. His neighbors were buffoons who hit each other over the head with giant wooden clubs. Every spring a virgin had to be sacrificed to the volcano. Dinosaurs trampled the cornfields. There was no cable television or internet. Surely life could be better? |
Mogo sat on a hill overlooking the entrance to his tribe's cave. He gave a big sigh because his life was so boring. Every day the same thing over and over, day after day. What was the meaning of it all? Eat, sleep, make a stone axe, hunt a mastodon, eat, sleep, fornicate, draw on the cave walls, eat, sleep. Every morning the sun came up and every afternoon the sun went down. And one day Mogo would die. "Enough of this!" Mogo muttered. "Life is too short to use it up on this crap! I'm going out to see the rest of the world and find out what it's all about. How big is the world and why does it exist? When I find the answers to those questions, then I will be happy!" Mogo gathered his essential belongings together in a leather bag. It wasn't much -- a magic charm, fire-making stones, a flint knife. He put his spear over his shoulder, adjusted his loincloth for a tight fit, said good-bye to the tribe, and walked away. They watched him go in disbelief. Someone said, "He come back soon. Get hungry. Get scared. He come back." But Mogo kept walking. A woman detached herself from the tribe and ran after Mogo. "Mogo! Take me with you!" "Go back, Lola," he said. "It may be dangerous out there. You stay here with what you know. You will be safe here. Out there you may die or worse." "What could be worse than dying?" Lola asked. "You don't want to know. Even hearing about it can hurt you." "But Mogo, you are going out there. Aren't you afraid?" "No. Well, actually yes, but I have made the decision that boredom is even worse than fear. So I am going to escape boredom even if it means I will meet fear." Lola grinned. "But that's the way I feel too! Now you have to let me go with you! We are both on the same journey." "I doubt that," Mogo said, "but if you want to travel with me and you are not afraid to be afraid... then come along. Together we can find more food so that's a good thing." "I'm a good berrypicker," Lola said. "And I can spear rabbits. We'll have a balanced diet." "You are already glad I am with you, aren't you?" Mogo shrugged. "You haven't picked any berries yet. We shall see..." |
Lola padded along the path with Mogo, almost side by side. Her sleek long legs allowed her to stay in place with him, matching his stride. She fell back some a few times topick plant leaves and put them in her pouch. They were a distance from the village and the hysterical laughter faded into the distance. Bah! What do they know, making fun of Mogo and his departure, she thought. "Where we go to, Mogo?" she asked. "What does it matter?" He regarded her now--this not quite six foot woman, barely inches shorter than him. He was at first reluctant to allow anyone to come with him, but seeing who it was made him change his mind. Yes, she might survive in the wilderness, and come in handy in more ways than one. BUT what if she had already changed her mind. "You go with me, we know when we get there." She nodded. Unknown to them, someone watched and followed When they moved and rested the shadowy follower moved and rested, only to gather leaves of plants also, but very different ones-- the ones anyone knows to avoid. That same someone had seen that look in Mogo's eyes when they'd passed each other just outside the cave commissary-- saw his sideways glance almost acknowledging her presence. Mogo had been one of the kind members of the tribe who came to the commissary to barter goods and give to the crippled and old people who couldn't hunt for themselves. #2 |
At the end of the first day Mogo and Lola made camp. "This is scary," Lola said, "to sleep under the sky with no cave to protect us." "Let's cuddle together for warmth." During the night they heard animal sounds that awakened them. "I wish I was back in the cave," Lola said. "I do too, but I refuse to go back. I knew there would be times like this when I left the cave. Tomorrow you can return to the tribe. We are less than a day's travel from them." "No," Lola said. "If you are not scared then I am not scared. Anyway, it's a good kind of sacred." "I think I know what you mean," Mogo said. Finally they were able to sleep but it wasn't long before the rays of the morning sun woke them up. "Yow!" Mogo said. "In the cave we could sleep late in the darkness. Out here the sun insists we wake up." Lola yawned and stretched. Mogo admired the way her chest looked. "You are strong. Why did you never have babies?" "I don't know," Lola said. "I slept with many men but none of them could make a baby in me." "Maybe there is something wrong with you." 'Maybe there is. Maybe that's why I left the cave. Maybe you talk too much about the wrong things." "Let's talk about food," he said and smiled. |
| The lone figure climbed into a tree and watched the two. Her, that Lola! Might as well call her Lolita. They lit a fire too and then ..*gasp* cuddled! Wog's eyebrows came together. Why that ....but wait, Mogo's hand curled around her too! Could it be? He wants her? She had to look away. Soon Wog curled up on her tree branch and pulled a holey bear skin around her. She might be needing a new one soon. For now, it would be her only comfort. The next morning, from her hiding place in the tree, Wog listened to Mogo and Lola talking. "Where are you going?" Mogo asked Lola, almost trying not to watch the muscles flex in Lola's legs. "I be back in a jif," she said. Lola wandered down to the beach, dangled a line into the water and waited. "Fish! That's what we need." She remembered the warmth that she and Mogo shared during the night and liked it almost too much. Yes, she would win his heart, share his pelts, and own everything that was his. After all, she knew how to work her stuff and she was good at it too. And from what she'd heard, so was he, but she would make him forget about anybody else. #4 |
Mogo and Lola ate a breakfast of fish and berries. "Let's get a move on," Mogo said. "I am in a hurry." "Why are you in a hurry?" Lola asked. "You don't even know where you are going." "I'm going to my future and I want to get there as soon as possible." "You can never get there," Lola said. Surprise was written all over her face in the form of an open mouth and raised eyebrows. Mogo thought for a moment. "Damn time! It's always screwing me up. You're right. The future is just out of grasp and always will be. And now we've lost the past. We can never go back." "We can go back to the cave." "No we can't. They would mock me and say ha-ha, Mogo, you moron, you ran away and had to come running back. I will NEVER go back!" Lola grabbed his arm. "I don't care, Mogo. I will go with you wherever you go." Up in her tree Wog fumed. Mogo should be hers and not belong to this long-legged alleycat Lola who was rubbing herself all over Mogo. It should be Wog rubbing herself all over Mogo. She almost fell out of her tree she was so upset. |
| She wasn't going to cry because big cave girls just don't do that. Nope. And what good would that do anyway. Hmmph! Her fingers curled around the berries in her bag. She thought about how it could make someone so sick they'd wish for death, and how they they might look inside the little lolita's stomach,. Wog vowed to herself that if anything happened to him, Lshe'd make her sorry. Maybe he was smart enough to see her for her true self. On the other hand, almost any caveman was blind when it came to certain women. Still, there he was creating new adventures with this woman.. With a stick Wog absently carved their initials into the wet sand along the water's edge. As if it might make it happen. Wog & Mofo 4 Ever. Oops. She realized her mistake. Too late now. It would be washed away before the morning's light anyway, and who would see? Even if she carved it into half the trees in the forest, still nobody would figure it out. *shrugs Who would care anyway? Wog heard hissing sounds close by. Probably a slithering creature wrapped around one of the limbs--a different one than she was in. Her size allowed her to crawl into some of the smallest places. She touched the thing called knife strapped to her leg. It was one of the things that this man she loved created, and upon finding that out she traded for its possession. He'd touched hit and crafted it as if by magic. Her stomach growled as she followed the pair further on, came along their campfire area, finding bits left behind, still good but scarce. Too bad she didn't have time or she'd have made fish jerky like she'd been taught by the elders of the group left behind. And what of them? They surely couldn't miss her and maybe didn't even notice she was not around. And at last now she was free of that sad example of a person who vowed to have her at any cost. She wiped her brow glad to be rid of him. It didn't matter what that he wanted.. Only Mofo mattered. Polly Wog aka Wog was so named for her swimming abilities and her hand and eye coordination. It came in handy in more ways than one. Darts and other weapons were her forte, except for those few times it wasn't. |
All day Mogo and Lola crashed through the thick underbrush of the Prehistoric Era. Occasionally they crossed paths with some obscenely huge reptile or some obscenely hairy giant mammal, but they always got real quiet and managed to sneak around them. And always a shadow pursued them, a shadow that sometimes uttered a curse word when she tripped over a root. Eventually Mogo said to Lola, "I think somebody is following us." "It's Wog," Lola said. "I can smell her perfume from a mile away. You know she has the hots for you, don't you?" "Wog?" Mogo's eyebrows went up. "But I thought she was the property of Elder Stonebrow?" "Wog hates Stonebrow. It's you she really likes." Mogo scratched his chin. "Why did no one tell me before? I would have borrowed her while he was sleeping." Lola wrapped her arm in Mogo's arm. "Maybe in the cave you would, but we are not in the cave now. Out here it is one man for one woman. No more of that sleeping around nonsense." "Why should it be so different out here?" "It just is," Lola said. In the bushes 100 feet behind them Wog muttered "Bitch!" so loud that they both heard it. "This is getting ridiculous," Mogo said. "We might as well invite her to eat with us." "I'll not have that little hussy sitting at my campfire!" Lola protested. Mogo stood tall. "It's as much my campfire as yours. I say we invite the little hussy... I mean... invite Wog to eat with us." |
| "Everything is not about you." Wog said. "This mean and thorny bush snagged my ankle." Lola rolled her eyes. "Too bad it's not carnivorous. Just what are you doing out here and why are you following us?" "I wasn't." "Yeah, okay." "You could have picked any trails, but after walking for more than five miles here we are all together. How do you explain that?" When Wog didn't answer, Lola continued. "Are you going to answer me? I'm talking to you." "I'm NOT talking to you," said Wog. Lola shot upward and forward toward her. Wog stiffened. She shifted ever so slightly on her haunches, her hand slid along her thigh, landing on the leather thong tied to it and what was inside. Her eyes focused intently on Lola, a clear sign to beware. Why don't I just kill her right now and get it over with. she thought. He eyed them both. Lola in combat mode, Wog, with her glittering eyes. "She doesn't have to answer," Mogo interjected, stopping between mouthfuls of food. "I already know." He pointed. "Get back over there Lola, and stop this bickering or you might not see me by morning's light." Lola backed away and sat back down. # 8 |
But Wog still felt like fighting. Maybe if she could hurt Lola bad enough then Lola would go back to the cave. Or would Mogo be angry with her? She didn't want to make Mogo angry. Mogo finished gnawing on the fish and kicked sand over the fire. "Ready to move on, ladies? I have a date with the future." Wog grinned. "I hear what Lola say. You never reach future." "Oh, I'll reach it alright, Miss Polly Wog. Don't you worry about that. Lola doesn't know as much as she thinks she knows." Lola snorted. "I know enough." A crashing noise in the underbrush heralded the sudden appearance of a barrel-chested caveman. Wog's eyes grew wide. "Azol! Why you here?" Azol pounded his cheat like a gorilla. "Me come for you, Wog. Take you back to cave. You my woman. You not belong to Mogo." "You got that right," Mogo said. "Take her away." "No!" Wog said. "Me stay with Mogo now! Go home, Azol! Me no want you here!" |
| Wog looked from one man to the other. First Mogo."Take her away?" Surely he didn't mean that. She already knew how things aren't always the way they seem. "Is that really how you feel?" "She's such a child. Must we spell it out for her?" Lola said. Mog sent her a withering look. Her look was hard for Azol. He stepped toward her. "He no love you Wog," he nearly hissed, "not like me. You would just be part of his toy collection." Wog spit at the ground. Going back with Azol brought thoughts of death her way. She'd not waste her life away in a life that had no meaning. She looked back at Mogo for an answer, but he looked away. No help there. She'd not beg. Azol grabbed her from behind, she jabbed him with a well placed elbow, and ran into the thickness of the bushes nearby, darting one way and then another, but he ran faster. She spun around and palmed the knife in her hand. "Stay away, Azol!" She was haunched down and moved backwards and screamed. "Go now! I would rather die then go back with you!" It didn't stop Azol, who was experienced and used to getting whatever he wanted by bullying and manipulating. With one swift kick, the knife was out of her hands, flew through the air and landed just outside Mogo's camp, but not before it sliced through the skin on his ankle. Azol winced, cursed, and glared at Wog, and took a giant leap toward her, tackling her, as she scrambled toward the knife. They collided, Wog screamed, and both fell to the ground with a thud. # 10 |
Mogo shook his head sadly to see his old cavemates engaged in their usual brawling ways. "Come on, Lola. Let's leave while those two ruffians are fighting with each other." "I want to stay and watch," Lola said. "Maybe Wog will get killed and I can rejoice." "It's not nice to rejoice when someone else dies." Lola shrugged. "You are always trying to be nice, Mogo. Don't you like to see your competitors destroyed?" "No, I have a vision of a world full of peace and cooperation." "Then why did you leave the cave? Is that cooperation when you leave everybody to survive on their own?" Mogo frowned. "Shut up, Lola. It isn't your job to poke holes in my thinking. Are you coming or not?" As they headed west they could hear the yells and screams of Wog and Azol still fighting. Lola said, "Which one you think win?" "Probably Wog. She has sharper claws." |
When Wog recovered from their crash landing, she kicked Azol again. "Stupid woman," Azol said. "Don't you know? Never hit a caveman!" Wog saw the backsides of Mogo and Lola leaving. Her hand reached out as if to call Mogo back, but she knew it was no use. Rightfully, she could have called him all the words she had never used, but she couldn't. Her hair fell across her face and she stared at the ground. "Now look what you have done, Azol! You've ruined my chance of happiness!" Her hand discreetly inched toward the knife. "I should kill you for that." "You no kill Azol. I'm stronger than you are." "Why do you want a woman who despises you?" "Because I can. Because it is meant to be. You are mine." She spit again. Azol said, "Don't make me hurt you. Mogo left you behind. How is that good?" "No. It is I that was wrong and left him alone. I thought he come to grips with his own feelings, but he just miss me and turn to jezebel or two for comfort.". "Then he not care for you." "You are WRONG!" She'd rather jump into a burning volcano than be with Azol. What good would that do? No. She had to be practical. . She had to have a plan, and she would, meanwhile she'd play into this barbaric jerk Azol's hands.What more could he do to her anyway? He might think he had her but he'd never truly would "have" her, not in ways that mean the most. Gathering her strength, she forced herself to pretend. Yes, she'd use Azol the way he used women, and he would know from the beginning that she'd never love him, and he'd give up. "I love him, Azol. He is good man." Azol rolled his eyes. "You come with me peacefully or I drag you. You and Mogo is over, done, finishio!" "Finishio? That is not a word." "I just made it up. I smart." More like an idiotic show off, she thought. It was her turn to roll her eyes, but she looked away instead, and finally gripped her knife, turned and slipped it onto her thigh under the fur cloth. "Let's go," he said. She got up. "Okay. Maybe you are a little bit right. I must think some more. If we are going back, lets go that way." She pointed toward the ocean. "Why?" "Why not?" Azol thought for a moment. "Okay." And so they strolled along the ocean, just above a cliff. The mist came up landing on their hair and skin, droplets formed and dripped from their hair, and moisture gathered on their skin and skins. # 12 |
| #13 Azol and Wog came to a place in the cliff where they had to step over a crack. It looked dangerous, but they were both as sure-footed as goats. This was her chance. She could push him off the cliff here and with any luck he would smash his head on the rocks below. She gave him a shove and over he went. She listened to him scream as he tumbled down the cliff. Then she heard the sound she did not want to hear, his call for help. "Wog!" he called from below. "Wog! Help me!" She looked over the edge. There he was, sprawled on the rocks. He was still alive. Why was she so unlucky? She sighed and made her way down to him. "Can you walk?" "No! I can not get up. Did you push me?" "What make you think that?" She had her hand on the knife concealed beneath her fur. Azol gritted his teeth against the pain. "I feel two hands on my back give me a shove." "You imagine that. You make mistake, then blame me. I not like that." Azol's eyes grew big. "Who care what you not like? I dying here! Maybe you kill me, I think. Very bad woman!" "Ho hum. I will sit here on this rock and watch you die. You die too slow I have knife. Speed things up." Azol began to cry. "I cannot believe I give you love. You not deserve it." "I deserve Mogo. That what I deserve. Not you, you old rag-picker." "I hope you never get Mogo! I hope you always be unhappy! I hope you--" At that point Azol choked on the stuff in his throat, the stuff being stuff that should have stayed down in his insides but the fall had broken and busted so much that now it was up in his throat choking him. "I dying," Azol gasped. "Good-bye, Wog. I still love you." Wog looked at the sky and muttered, "Yes, yes, you love me but I not love you. So sad. Good-bye, stupid Azol." #13 |
| HIs choking stopped momentarily. "Why you so mean to me, woman? Azol cried some more. "You stay and we go make more cave people. You might like that. I hurt and I know you not leave me to die." "You wrong, imbecile. I don't even know you. I no love you. I no want you. You not give up." Azol coughed some more, choking again. Wog turned on her heel. "Goodbye." "No. Wait," Azol screamed as Wog leapt over the side of the cliff and dove down into the water, disappearing from sight. When he could no longer see her anywhere, Azol spit out the dirt clod lodged in his mouth from his fall, then crawled over to some vines overhanging the cliff. Pulling out a small piece of leather, he scratched a drawing into it indicating to go to Plan B. For several minutes, he made bird sounds and then heard the vigorous flapping of wings. The sound came nearer and then something landed on his head, knocking him down and almost over the edge again. He chided himself for how clumsy this one was out of all the rest he'd trained. Wrestling the Archaeopteryx to the ground, he tied the note to one of its long legs, then pulled out a piece of Lola scented fur. Being careful of those teeth, he fed it a lizard he'd captured, and said, "Now you find Lola." before pushing it over the side. Lola sat opposite Mogo. Her long legs were open yet crossed at the ankles. His eyes traveled the length of her. Up from her ankle, then to her thighs, and to her narrow waist and plump breasts. His breath stuttered there, but then his gaze wandered to her mouth. She belched, and then picked what little teeth she had left, which were jagged as rocks and stuck out in several places. She might have put the Beaveravis to shame. Maybe she could even chop down a tree. Maybe he better keep his distance after all. #14 |
| #15 Suddenly an Archaeopteryx came flapping into view and dropped a note on them. "That's Azol's bird!" Lola said. Mogo read the note. "He fell off the cliff about a mile back. He wants us to come help him." "Are we going to?" "Hmmm... it will delay my journey to the future, but I guess it's the decent thing to do." Lola smiled. "You like to be decent, don't you?" He avoided looking at her teeth. "Yes, when I can be and providing it doesn't cause too much disruption to my plans." "Should we run? Did he say he was dying?" "Yes, he did say that." Mogo said. "Let's run!" So they trotted back to where Azol was lying in the rocks, battered and bruised. His eyes were closed. There didn't seem to be much life left in him, maybe not any life at all... #15 |
| "He looks awful," Mogo said. "I wonder what attacked him." "Does it matter? Whatever it was, did us a favor and got rid of Wog." "I doubt it." "Then where is she?" Lola asked. "You going to give him CPR?" "No. Why don't you?" Mogo gave her an incredulous look. "I can't do that." "Why not? Maybe you save his life." "Because it just won't seem right if I did. What if he woke up and saw me?" "Okay. I'll do it." Lola got on top of Azol and jumped up and down like she was on a pogo stick. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...." Mogo stopped her. "What are you doing? That's not CPR. If he's not dead, he will be if you keep that up. You have to put your mouth over his and blow into him." "Okay. I can do that." She blew into him and then returned to her jumping up and down on his chest. Maybe this woman is stupid. "I don't think you understand." "What now?" He kneeled next to him and put his ear by Azol's face. "It's too late. You killed him." "No, I didn't. Quit joking around. I will keep trying." She climbed over him, and slowly lowered her mouth to Azol's. Mogo wandered over to the vine which lead to the cliff edge, and left her with her life saving methods. Peering over the edge, he scanned the ocean for any sign of a dead body, There was none. Azol's mouth came to life under Lola's and almost startled her. Not only was he breathing, his tongue slid into her own mouth and she decided to let it. Underneath, Azol moved his hands, until they slid under her fur trappings. He pulled her closer. Her breasts were full and jiggly as they brushed against him. which caused even more lusty thoughts to come into Lola's mind. She felt those familiar stirrings of desire, and lingered longer than she might have. And now her mouth moved against his just as energetically, and she forgot about saving his life. Mogo looked back at Lola, who obviously was still administering CPR. "Lets dump him into the sea," he said. "What's taking so long?" He leaned toward her, trying to see past her tangled mass of hair. "Lola? What's going on over there?" "Nothing. I think he's coming around," Lola said. "I knew you not leave me," Azol whimpered. "We no go back. I make home for us. You stay with me." "Shh. Save your energy," Lola whispered to Azol. She turned to Mogo. "He's okay, just delirious. He needs to rest. There is an old lean-to over there." She pointed. "He can stay in it for the night until we figure out what to do with him." "Figure out what to do with him? We can't do anything with him, but it would be unkind to just leave him out in the open." "Yes. It would be unkind." She looked at Azol and he looked like he'd passed out again. Mogo said, "Okay, we can put him inside, then lets get back on my journey." Together they tugged at him, Mogo with his top half, Lola his bottom half. Suddenly he twisted his body and knocked Mogo down, then tore his legs free from Lola and pushed Mogo over the side. Azol looked down at Mogo, stomped on his hands. and watched him fall, and crash into the water's surface. "Goodbye Mogo. You loser." "I didn't think you would kill him, but now that he's gone, I be your woman, " Lola said. "I knew you wouldn't let me die." Azol and Lola entered the lean-to made up of tree branches and giant leaves He had recuperated just like she knew he would and they pawed at each other in the dark and joined in a wild frenzy of activity. Meanwhile, just below them in the churning sea, Mogo floated and was losing consciousness. His head was bleeding, his vision blurred. A movement near him grew stronger and then arms encircled him, dragging him backwards into a caved area under the cliff. The shadow hovered over him and cradled his head once they were on dry land and then everything turned black. He laid there semi-conscious, with visuals of blue and purple stegosaurus, and even pink Pteridactols, which crossed his path, some were, massive,, leathery and thorny, with eyes as big as his head, yet he carefully avoided them, and then a very nice smelling and slightly lumpy female creature appeared and snuggled up to him. Her eyes were as blue as the sky on a clear day, and she shrank and morphed, as every few seconds she became soft and firm flesh--almost womanly. And ...then he realized he was not hallucinating. His hands felt warm skin and silken hair, firm thighs, and hot, wet kisses. And all his hidden parts sprang to life as if ressurected from the grave. If this was a dream, he was about to have more of it. Her body was a hot mix of curves and smoothness. Her movements were wanton in his lap, Her hands and mouth were doing all those exquisite things he'd only reminisced about. They rolled to the side. Her body became his own personal map, and together they went on a journey. His own hands and mouth roamed the land of her body, stopping here and there to enjoy the terrain, cresting the peaks and delving into the valleys. His instinct became his compass, guiding him. as his hands rose and slid along her ribcage and cupped her breasts--both firm and soft at the same time and then slid to her backside. A sound murmur of pleasure escaped her lips, as they explored each other's bodies, and tumbled around on the cave floor, until they reached their destination. After they were thorough and through, he felt her move away. He wondered what had come over her. Yes, Lola must have dove in after him to rescue him and here she was nursing him in her own special way. Mogo knew everything would be different after this, but still wondered if maybe he made a mistake by letting her do all those nasty things she did to him. Yet there was something different about her now, that made him long to hold her closer, but she'd already disappeared into the darkness. And then he remembered how they'd kissed, and how jagged her teeth had looked before, but noted how they didn't feel or look as jagged in the stray beams of moonlight. . #15 |
| #16 Mogo crawled back up the cliff to the leanto where Lola was supposed to be watching Azol, but it was abandoned. There was a note there from Lola: Mogo, I have decided I don't want to wander around in the wilderness. I am taking Azol back to the cave. With any luck at all we will live happily ever after. You, I am afraid, will wander through the wilderness until you become a sad, lonely, bitter old man. Good luck with that. Or maybe you will marry Polly Wog and have lots of little ugly wogglies to feed. Goodbye, Mogo Lola Mogo crumpled up the note. Who needed her anyway? Well, at the moment he could use her first-aid abilities. He was still a broken, bleeding wreck from the fall off the cliff. Ironic that Azol had suffered the same fate. "Mogo! Oh, Mogo darling!" It was Wog running up to him with an armfull of healing herbs. "Lie down, Mogo. Me make you well. Relax and let Woggy make you better." Mogo groaned and closed his eyes. And remembered the episode in the sea, her body against his. She wasn't bad if you kept your eyes closed. But as soon as he was better he was going to resume his journey west. He would NEVER go back to that smelly cave. If Wog wanted to follow him west then that was here option to choose. Meanwhile, now he would sleep and be healed... #16 |
Wog dampened a piece of fur and wiped Mogo's forehead and brow, and then his face, but soon he waved her away. "I can't sleep when you do that," he grumbled. Wog let her hand fall away. Later she trapped some fish, cooked it over a fire and fed him some. "Mogo feel better now? At least there is no more Lola." Yes, having Lola gone was a big relief. Wog had found the note left by Lola. What Lola saw in Azol was beyond her. Mogo was a far better man, yet lately he'd been acting different. One day, he was able to sit up more, and then after a few dozen times of crashing into the rocks on the ground, he eventually almost walked without falling down. "Mogo, you getting better. Instead of crashing three times a day, it now only two." She looked at his head and the two medium sized bumps on it. It almost looked like he had pupilless eyes in the back of the head. "Yeah, Lucky me," Mogo said. "Too bad that boulder had to jump out and hit me in the head on the way down into the water." "Maybe your head not put a crack in it," she replied. He eyed her. "What?" "I meant good thing it not put a crack in your head, then your brains spill out and you die." "Oh." How reassuring that was. Maybe he was underestimating Wog, and she had a dark side to her after all. Watching her fight with Azol, he thought he knew what she was capable of, but he wasn't quite sure. They were sitting just outside the cave, basking in the sunshine. Wog said, "Mogo, you know what you looking for on your search? What you find there and what you do?" How many times would someone ask and they'd get the same answer. And after the sun went down, he'd be tormented nightly by Wog's non-stop chatter echoing off the cave walls about her plans for the next day: "Tomorrow I will clean out this cave, dust, and move rocks around." The truth is he really had no idea what he'd find on his search, or what he would do, but staying at the cave and having a ho-hum existence just didn't feel okay. "Hand me that rock over there." She gave it to him, then he hit himself in the head. "Mogo! What are you doing? Stop!" His eyes rolled around some, he released the rock. "Now I sleepy," he said and collapsed. It was better than her asking him questions. "He's just confused." Wog said to the sky. He was getting stronger every day and she wondered what would happen when he regained all his strength, and didn't need her first-aid. He rejected her once when that stupid Lola was there. How many moons had passed by since his fall? She bit her lip. Maybe she should have been ashamed of herself for letting herself share more than her warmth with Mogo, but she wasn't. He didn't give a sign that he even cared, but that was the caveman ways. At least Lola wasn't having him anymore. How fickle Azol and Lola was and how fitting that they mated up. Good riddance! A wave of nausea crept over her. Maybe I'm just hungry. she reasoned. Nibbling on a few berries she'd saved, the nausea got worse. Her body felt hot. She crawled to the water and sipped, and seconds later another wave of nausea swept over her. Then she remembered the "special" berries intended for Lola. "Mogo!" she managed to cry out. "The berries..." Mogo exited the cave and ran over to where she was. "Berries?" He retrieved them where she'd thrown them down, and started to feed her some then stopped when he realized what they were. Surely, she would have known the difference between good berries and poison ones. He knew what to do. He lifted her and carried her to the inside of the cave. "I'll be back." Then ran quickly to pick from a certain plant he'd seen on the path. #18 |
| #19 Mogo rushed back to Wog with the plant. His tribe called it the "make sick now but make well later" plant. "Not that one!" Wog protested, but she was too weak to do anything more than feebly wave her arms. Mogo began stuffing the plant into her mouth with one hand while he worked her jaw up and down with his other hand, forcing her to chew and swallow the bitter weed. After she had choked down several mouthfulls of the plant, she choked and muttered, "Oh, Gawwwwwwd!" and threw up a ribbon of green. Mogo scraped the spew off her chest with his fingers and stufffed it back in her mouth. "Lick my finger clean!" he shouted. She was twisting her head back and forth, c;amping her lips shut, and making a face like it was the worst stuff she ever tasted. Mogo touched his tongue to a bit of the noxious weed. "Whew!" he said. "That tastes so bad it's got to be good for you. Eat more, Wog." He stuffed more of it down her throat which she promptly vomited up again. But each time she vomited, the plant was becoming better chewed and more like a green soup. Mogo knew eventually she would be too exhausted to vomit anymore and would keep it down. When Wog vomited for the ninth time her eyes rolled back in her head and she grew still. "Oh no!" Mogo said. "Are you like cat? Only have nine lives?" But she was still breathing. Mogo decided to let her rest for awhile. He saved her green vomit in a big leaf. She might want it later. #19 |
| While Wog laid there helpless, sick, weak, her mind was still strong. She vowed to kill Mogo if and when she ever got better, maybe even before that. The man held no tenderness for her even after their love session. It was now that she realized that maybe it had been a mistake to even admire him. This caused her to frown. She wondered how she could be so wrong Not once did he even feed her or give her water, only came around to see if she was well enough to be fed the green slimey gunk.Maybe he liked the ugly faces and watching her suffer. And so she faked being stiff and rolled her eyes back on purpose. Only the God's above, kept her alive, and with a bit of strength she managed to crawl away to get a drink or grab some good berries to eat, She reasoned that this might take days and that Mogo would only find her and stuff that green slime down her throat again.. She wondered why he even bothered. Then if she did get better he would think it was his brilliant idea that saved her. NOT. One rather gloomy day, Wog felt strong enough to go on her way and leave Mogo. Yes, he deserved to be alone. Maybe if he was lucky, some hungry Brontosaurus would eat him. Instead of just leaving without even telling him, she waited for his return. When he saw her color had returned, and had a scoopful of green in his hand, she moved away and spoke.. "Get away from me, Mogo! I'm done with you After what you've done, we are no more." "Done? I just saved your life and now we're done?" "You did not save my life. You made me sicker. I could kill you right now, but maybe I would regret it later. Be happy you're still alive" If I didn't cure you, then how did you get better?" "It doesn't matter now. You go. Go on your stupid search for what isn't there. I don't want to go anywhere with you. And you can have your stupid weapon back. I want nothing to remind me of you." "What are you talking about?" he asked. With glittering eyes, she threw the knife narrowly missing him, but pinning him to a tree by his animal skin clothing.. Them she waked away, far away. And Mogo stared at the knife he'd made himself so long ago. He removed it from the tree. "You do someone a favor and this is the thanks you get." Then he too departed. The End. . #20 |
| #21 Mogo wandered for 20 days in the wilderness. He went so long without seeing another human being that he began to go a little crazy. He sang songs to himself... Mogo walks along the path Mogo feels no bitter wrath Mogo's heart is full of love Like the sunshine up above Then he would cry because he was so lonely and wail, "Why did I ever leave the cave? Why was I so mean to Lola and Wog and Azol? Wait a minute, I wasn't mean to Lola. She was mean to me. She pushed me off cliff and then she went off with Azol. Maybe it's a good thing she's gone. But poor little Wog -- what did she do? She loved me so much and I pushed her away because of her bad breath and scraggly teeth. I could have endured that. But she was a little bit dumb. eating her own poison berries? That wasn't too smart. Good thing I save her life with 'make sick now but heal later' weed. Did she appreciate it? No! Throw knife at me! Dumb broad!" There was a loud crashing in the brush up ahead and suddenly a 500 pound female gorilla was standing before him. "Whoa!" Mogo said. "You so ugly you make even Wog look beautiful!" "Grrrr!" the gorilla said. She had lost her mate to a dinosaur and was looking for a new mate. This scrawny little pale thing before her was the poorest excuse for a male gorilla she had ever seen, but he was better than nothing. She scooped Mogo up in her arms. "Hey!" Mogo said. "I'm not interested, lady! Put me down!" #21 |
Good riddance! Wog thought. Mogo and her had parted ways days ago, maybe even weeks or months ago. It left her feeling confused , but she knew she wasn't missing much really since he never even so much as put his arm around her, except during the mating that one night, then again she didn't see him put his arm around. Lola either. Oh! Yes, he did, when they snuggled. Even now it caused pain in the pit of her stomach., but whatever they had was ended and she was over him. Wog lost track of time, as she wandered through the thickness of the trees, but then one day the familiar waves of nausea swept over her, and it also caused her tummy to puff up a little more each day. Maybe because of Mogo, I am dying, and will die alone Wog settled down near a tree and wept. Minutes later, she fell asleep. That next morning, the scent of smoke woke her up and caused her to tense up. Food was cooking somewhere. Her stomach growled, her appetite seemed to have increased, and she sniffed until the smell became stronger... Climbing a tree, she spied a lone wanderer hovering over a campfire, moving the meat about over the fire. "Es wird fast getan," he said. Mog scoured the area with her eyes, to discover who he might be talking to, and couldn't see anyone After several minutes, she knew there wasn't anyone else around. Returning her attention to him, she watched him tear off a piece of meat, take a bite. "Mmm. Brontosaurus steak. Yumm.," he said, licking his chops. Wog watched him intently, taunted and tortured by her appetite. An ungodly sound came from her stomach. It was so loud she thought he might hear it. Several minutes later, he left the campfire, and walked toward the stream nearby. This gave her a chance. Food! How long had it been since she sank her teeth into meat? She jumped out of the tree and dashed toward the cooked meat, snatched a piece, and backed away into the brush, moving to another tree just in case he discovered it, then scarfed down the piece of meat. He returned, glanced at the missing piece and smiled. Then he spoke in a language she wasn't familiar with, but sounded friendly, "Bleiben Sie eine Weile." He patted the rock next to him. "Sie sind sicher, wunderschöne kleine. ." What was he saying and why was he speaking in another tongue? Even his apparel seemed different. Wog watched the stranger tend the glowing campfire, the firelight causing the lighter strands of his hair to glisten with golden highlights. Soon, he settled onto the ground nearby, resting. The embers eventually died out. Wog climbed back into her favorite tree limbs and slept. For several days, it was the same routine. Wog almost wanted to sit with this stranger near the fire. and share it's warmth, but didn't. Maybe tomorrow, she thought. After a night's sleep, she shimmied down the tree's trunk and almost landed on some animal skins. Dropping lower to the ground, Wog looked around her. When she saw no sign of the stranger nearby she relaxed more, crouched down and inspected and touched the fine furs. No one ever did that before. Only Mogo gave her the sickness. She looked again at the gifts. Maybe it ws a trap. When she lived within the village, she'd heard about some of the uglier and less desirable cavemen giving gifts in return for favors from the less ugly cave women. But this one was by far much better looking with his well-muscled legs, powerful arms, and broad shoulders. Surely, this stranger didn't think she was that kind of cave-girl. It was his loss if he did. She'd keep those skins anyway. Gathering her items, she moved toward where the campfire was, and saw that it was deserted now. No trace of the stranger. He'd vanished. His presence was somehow comforting and peaceful, and now he'd disappeared. I guess you'll have that in the wild. She left the camp and moved closer to the creek-bed, and bathed in its stream, returning once more to the clearing. One day while looking for fallen tree branches, she came across a weapon she'd seen before It was an odd looking contraption, probably left behind by the stranger. It was two twigs, bound together and shaped like a V, but had a stretchy band across connecting the two. Wog played with it some, pulling it, she noticed that it boomeranged back almost hitting her face, then decided to put a pebble inside it. For days, she entertained herself with it--her targets were now fish in the creekbed, but the water seemed to not help matters any. It was much easier to spear them. One day, when she wandered away from the water, a Bearas Gigantus had wandered into the clearing. Hoping it didn't noticed, she darted toward the large boulders. If she ran, surely it would chase her and climb whatever tree she was in. She wondered what she might do. Lately, she'd been feeling sickly, the tossing up of her food caused her concern. Wog pulled the contraption out of her pouch and some small stones she'd just picked up. Maybe she could scare it away. Pulling the band back she let the stones fly toward the animal. They hit it's massive legs and feet, causing it to almost dance.. Wog was running out of options. It only seemed to infuriate the bear more. He lurched forward. Then something astonishing happened. The stranger appeared once again, darted in front of Wog, and became a barricade between her and the creature. Wog took the opportunity to dart behind some rocks. The Bearas Gigantus stood up, let our a roar, causing Wog to shrink back some. The stranger's hands stretched above his head, which spread himself out. It made him seem much bigger and taller, where before he only seemed a head taller than herself. He let out a deafening roar of his own, showing big teeth. "Halten Sie an! Sie Biest" he yelled. The animal stood still, as if analyzing the situation. Then it turned, moved away, ran on all fours, and disappeared within the clump of trees. Satisfied that the animal had left, the stranger turned around. Wog stood up. He stepped closer now, moving his hand in front of her as if scanning her body checking for injuries. Satisfied that there was none, he said, "Sie sind jetzt sicher. You arr safe now." Wog had the urge to hug him, but held back. If he hadn't come along, then what might have happened? "Sie...er..you help me. We build fire?" he inquired. So he could use words she could understand. After his attempt to protect her, she sensed that she could trust him, and nodded. # 22 |
| #23 Wog gathered pieces of firewood and soon she and the stranger had a nice fire going. "Me Wog. Who you?" Wog asked. She touched her chest and pointed at him as she said it. "Hans," he said. "Ich bin ein spielunken." She had no idea what he was talking about. "Speak rock talk," she said. "Me try," he said. "Not too good at it." "You good enough. You seem like nice guy. You wouldn't believe the last sonafabitch I got hooked up with." "That too bad," he said. "You seem like nice girl. Deserve better." "Thank you. I love your blond hair." "Everyone my tribe have blond hair. No big deal." "Well everyone in my tribe have brown hair so yes -- big deal!" They laughed and their eyes twinkled and Wog wondered if they would be sharing a bed that night. #23 |
| He looked a little closer. "I taut you say all your tribe habe brown eyes." "Yes." "but haben Sie blue eyes!" "Oh. When I was a babe, somebody find me floating down the river in a log." "Really." "Yes, Some crazy guy say kill all the babies who born first." "You not know your Mutter und Vater?" "Mutter? Vater?" This new language was difficult to learn but soon she could figure it out. "Oh you mean...no, I don't." Wog was a little self conscious because she'd put on weight. Hans was entertaining and delightful company and didn't seem to notice. Why would he anyway? He hadn't seen her before she'd been sick. Then she felt guilty. What if he liked her too much and then she would just die one day? It wouldnt' be fair to him. She decided to tell him soon. "Why you called Hans?" "Ah. My Mutter say I am all hands." "Let me see." He held one out for her inspection. Pulling it toward her she looked closer. "They not look big to me." This seemed to amuse him. His eyes dropped to her cleavage. She let his hand go. "Hans. One day I leave this place." "Where you go, Wog?" "Another place and I not see you again." "Why? You not like me?" "No. You see I have sickness. I ate the forbidden berries." "If you did you not be alive now." "No. I only ate some by mistake." "Maybe you nicht see so well. Still, you die quickly." "No no. Another caveman give me herbs from plant, but it make me deathly sick." "Oh I tink I know which one." "Yes?" He nodded. "If you keep taking, it cure you, but most I know they die anyway. It better that way." "That make me feel good now." She made a face."How it be better if you die?" "Only better to die if Sie habe to suffer. .Excuse please. I mean somehow you didn't. I am glad." She smiled."Maybe I not over being sick." "Oh?" "Yes. Sometime I spill my guts." "Spill your guts?" "Yes, you know." Then she stuck her finger in her throat to demonstrate.. "Ohhhhh. You not sick, you have baby, I tink. Have you thumped yet?" Her mouth gaped open. Could it be? Oh god, no! Just the thought made her want to puke and she turned white. "I'm sorry. I wrong." Hans asked. "Maybe you not have baby. You not grouchy enough anyway." It would explain her puffy stomach, and why she now looked like she had ripe mangos in her top. She nodded. "Oh Hans, she cried. "Maybe you are right. I thought I love him and we how you say--thumped each other when he sick." "Aha. Den dere is only one thing to do. You haben dis babe and I help you." "Oh Hans. Would you? But if it is..." He waved his hand. "Say no more. It is done. Can we name him Hans Jr?" "What if it is a girl?" He thought for a moment. "How does Hanswog sound?" She shook her head no. "It not look look good carved into the cave. Take too long to write. What would our offspring's offspring think? Oh. Sorry. I said "ours". Suddenly her face felt hot. "The baby will be ours. And you are right. And maybe one day we haben offspring. Maybe we call her Heidi. Ja?" |
| #25 Wog smiled. "OK, Hans. We call her Heidi." The two prehistoric lovers soon found their days filled with extra work as they prepared to feed a new mouth. A shelter had to be built. Clothes had to be made. (Just skins, but still, you had to get the skins and tan them.) And of course every day food had to be prepared as Wog got hungrier and hungrier. Wog continued to take doses of the healing berry, but not enough to make her too sick to work. Her belly grew bigger and bigger. And Spring turned into Late Summer. Meanwhile Mogo had made good progress. He had his insanity under control and he was quite cheerful as he marched alone through the woods singing his songs... I am Mogo the greatest of them all The beasts all stop to listen when I give my mighty call Through the woods I wander, headed for my goal I hope I reach the future before I get too old. Sometimes he would tell jokes to himself and chuckle at his own cleverness. How you know if dinosaur been in refrigerator? You see dino tracks in peanut butter. Hahahahahaha! Occasionally he would think of the women he had known... Lola with the long legs, Wog with the scraggly teeth, but his favorite had to bne the gorilla woman who captured him and kept him captive for nine days while she performed unspeakably obscene acts on him. That episode was quite memorable. Sometimes in the evening after he had made his bed of leaves, he would think about her and murmur, "Oh you big hairy ape woman, hurt me again!" and he would smile and drift off into pleasant dreams. #25 |
| After doing all the building, and preparation, Wog and Hans settled by the campfire. Wog leaned back into Han's front. His arms encircled her and her belly. He kissed the side of her head. They sat that way for a long time. "it is time to sleep, Wog." She struggled, but couldn't move. "Maybe we stuck like this forever." Hans was trapped, but wiggled his way inch by inch, until he managed to get free, and then found a good sized tree branch to use as leverage to move Wog. Finally, she got up, only to move to the prepared bedding of leaves Hans had made, and they snuggled there through the night. One day, Wog had unspeakable pain. "Ohhhhh. Something wrong, Hans." Hans helped her to the rbirthing rocks he'd arranged.. "it okay. Breathe like we practice. Hans rubbed his hands together and smiled. "I barely wait see our baby." And so they panted like chimpanzees in heat.. "I think little Hans is wanting out." Suddenly, there was loud gust of air that came out and formed a green cloud, and Wog's stomach flattened. Han's held his breath and almost passed out, but waited for a lifeform to emerge. "Oh. That feel much better. Han's, what is it? "It nothing. Nothing came out, just air" "What? I thought you say I have baby." "Mistake, I tink." "WHAT? No baby? Okay, I take no more Forbidden berries." Wog didn't know what to think. First, she was having Mogo's baby, and even had a suitable father for it, and then now she has no baby. Those stupid berries. She wanted to stomp on them. She shrugged. She got up, Hand walked with her to the water's edge, where she stripped off her animal hiides,and splashed herself and then dipped down inside the water. "You still took the berries? No wonder. I thought you stop. It make you bloat." With love in his eyes his gaze followed along her gentle curves along her naked body. "I sorry I not have the baby for you." "I not worry about that." "The berries make me puff up?" He nodded. But what about these?" She pushed out her chest. Hans watched the water slide around and down and drop from her globes. Everything glistened. "Oh those. Those are...nice." His hands rose, about to grasp them. She blinked and playfully swatted his hands away. "Hans refocus please. No time for play." "But Hans like to play..." He gave her that pouty look, the one she knew so well, the one that made her weak and wanting.. Moving his hand, she put his on them. He moved them around their firmness. ."They make me tink of fruit and now I hungry." She gazed into his golden eyes Her fingers touched the nape of his neck, and then sifted through his silky mop of hair, and she kissed him.. Tugging at his hand, she said, "Lets go so you can be fed." She didn't have to drag him into the hut they'd built. They were there only minutes when the air was loud with a terrible screeching sound. They emerged from their hut, looking around excitedly. "Hans, what is it?" |
| #27 "It's a terrible screeching sound," Hans said, Wog rolled her eyes. "I know that! What MAKE terrible screeching sound?" "Maybe some new kind of animal," Hans said. "You and I get to name it. We call it Terrible Screecher." Wog shook her head sadly. "You becoming a lot like Mogo. I no like that." "Sorry," Hans said. "You right. Make dumb jokes like Mogo. But we need to be serious. Maybe matter of life or death, huh?" "Maybe," Wog said. "I know I can't sleep as long as that Terrible Screecher around. You have to kill it." "Huh?! Me? Kill it? Why?" "I just told you why. We can't sleep. Screecher got to go. Got to stop screeching." Hans said, "That doesn't mean I have to kill it. Just stop screeching be good, right?" "Are you afraid to kill it?" "No! But maybe it not afraid to kill me either. You think of that?" Wog put a finger to her mouth. "No, not think of that. You right. Now I see possible future where it kill you, I be all alone, and I STILL have to deal with Terrible Screecher." "Right," Hans said. "Let's go look. Maybe Terrible Screecher have a thorn in it's foot. We remove thorn and it stop screeching and be our friend forever." "Oh, Hans! Wouldn't that be wonderful? Just like a cave fire story." #27 |
"What is a cave fire story?" Wog's answer was drowned out by the horrible screeching. They drew their weapons just in case and began a search in the direction where the sound was coming from. Everytime it screeched they crouched down. They entered the thick mass of bushes, turned where a stack of boulders prevented them from going further. Hans cut a path through some brush nearby, and they started uphill. ~~S C R E E C H~. Wog nearly toppled out of the tree they had climbed to get a better view. "Over there somewhere." He pointed. And so they'd dropped down from the position they did have. "Look there's a nest!" A fuzzy head and a beak looked over the edge of the nest, only to disappear again. "I wonder how many there are, and where is the mommy?" "I don't see her, but she must not be too far. Let's get closer." They shimmied down the tree and looked for better access, but was distracted by the great flapping of wings. A gigantic bird flew and hovered overhead, then swooped down, pecked at the baby and snatched it from the nest. "Oh no! Hans we must do something." She got out her slingshot, and grab a decent sized stone, played it in the stretchy part and let it fly. The first didn't hit her target, but the second one did. "Are you crazy? That bird will kill us!" Hans said. "We can't just let it take baby. It might suffer terrible death and get eaten." "Is there such thing as a good death?" "Why you think of such things now?" Seconds later, another creature, ,torpedoed down knocking the other one away. A fight ensued. All Wog and Hans could see and hear was the occasional flapping of wings that collided in mid-air. Feathers flew and floated covering the brush like snow. Finally, the first bird lost its grip on the baby, which then shot down and headed directly for them..."Watch out!" she yelled but they both shared the impact of the baby's landing In fact, they it's physical size was so massive if covered them They awoke minutes later, laid out like pancakes. "Am I alive? Am I in cloud?" "I think you alive and so am I. This cloud too thick. Baby land on us" "What if its dead?" "I can't move. How we get out of here?" The cloud felt soft and warm, and moved slightly. "Whew. At least not dead. I almost want to sleep now." Then something poked through the cottony cloud. Two big eyes. stared at them sleepily. The eyes disappeared behind its lids and they laid like that for what seemed hours. ~S C R E E C H ! ~ "Wog. Wake up!. If mother see us she think we harm it and kill us!" Just then the soft warm cloud moved again, rising up above them. Two massive legs appeared, which moved to the right, just enough so they could get on their knees. Maybe they could escape! They sprinted toward the clearing, but then the cloud flattened them again. Two seconds later it was up again. It moved to the left. "I not fall for that again," Hans said., guiding them to the left, while the cloud hovered over them. .But just outside the perimeter, he spied even larger legs, big enough to squash any homo sapien in a second. "We going to die!" Wog cried. "No. I have idea." Hans grabbed the pieces of rope he had with him, and tossed her one. "Hurry! Tie yourself to its leg and hold on!" She did as he said, and no sooner then she had they were lifted, and soon they were flyihg away. Wog opened her eyes and looked down. "Say goodbye to our home" . # 28 |
| #29 They flew for hours and as they were flying across a canyon Wog said, "Look down there! Is that who I think it is?" "I don't know," Hans said. "Who you think it is?" "It's Mogo! Hey, Mogo! Look up here! We flying, Mogo!" Mogo looked up and saw his old girlfriend Wog flying with her new blonde stud, but he felt no anger. "Hi, Wog! You find better way to travel than walk like me!" Unfortunately, all the yelling going on made the giant bird realize that the weights on its legs were alive. She started pecking at Wog and Hans. "No!" Wog said. "Make it stop, Hans!" "What I do? Maybe time to get off, huh?" "Yes! Cut the ropes!" Hans waited until they had crossed the canyon and were within a few feet of the high ground on the other side. They fell to the ground almost painlessly, but not quite painlessly, of course. "Oh!" Wog said. "That hard fall." "I think I sprain my ankle," Hans said. Mogo climbed up the canyon wall and ran to the two air travelers. "I think you invent new mode of transportation." "Never mind that," Wog said. "Hans has sprained his ankle." "What you want me to do?" Mogo asked. "Perform magic healing ceremony? Call on the rain gods to make ankle good again?" "Why you pick rain gods to call?" "I don't know. You're right. Stupid call. But no foot gods, right? Who do you call?" "Ghostbusters!" Hans said. Wog and Mogo looked at him. "What?" Hans grinned. "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!" "I think he delirious," Wog said. "No, maybe not." Mogo rubbed his chin. "We call ghosts of our ancestors. They make his ankle better." "You sure?" Wog said. "You made me vomit for seven days when you perform your bogus healing tricks on me." "Don't worry. Hans not have to eat anything. Tonight when it is dark we all get naked and chant." "And that will make the ghosts rise?" "It will make something rise, but maybe ghosts, too, if we lucky." "Good," Wog said, "Because I can't stand it when my sweet baby Hans is hurting. I want him to be well." Mogo smiled. "After tonight we all feel better." #29 |
| Wog wondered what Mogo was up to, and why Hans mentioned Ghostbusters. Mogo found Wog down by the stream, collecting water. "Wog. Where did Hans come from? He talks about things I never heard of." "Wog don't know. Never ask. It not important." Mogo hadn't changed much, but his five o'clock shadow had turned to looked something like an upside down triangle. He also had a new habit, which she hadn't noticed before. "You itchy?" "No. Why?" "Why you pick at yourself?" He shrugged. Wog lifted and balanced the large, water-filed, wood bowl Hans had carved out of a fallen tree trunk. Mogo gave her a sideways glance. "You look good, but different somehow." "Oh? Maybe I eat too much. Hans. He good to me." She didn't have to mention that they'd not even coupled yet, not in the normal sense. Always some distraction. "That good." Mogo spied a banana tree and ran toward it making strange sounds. "OO OO aww aww aww." Maybe Mogo too long alone in the forest, Wog thought. "What is this getting naked stuff?" He didn't answer at first. "You see." Wog walked back to where Hans was. The sun slowly sank lower in the sky. His profile--straight nose, yet not overly large was perfect in silhouette. Wog placed her hand on his shoulder, massaging it gently, and handed him the bowl of water. "You drink." Then she pulled out some giant leaves and tore them into long strips. After padding his ankle with dried Pampas grass, she tied it with the strips of giant leaves. He was either putting up a strong front or numb, because the only sign that it still hurt was his slight movement when she'd applied an herbal mixture. Mogo returned and was busy stacking wood pieces for the fire. "Too bad we don't have cards," Hans said. "Cards? What is cards?" Mogo asked. "Oh. Uh...I forgot. You know about cards nicht." Wog had retrieved some bedding material and was walking by Mogo. "He talks funny." Mogo whispered to her. "What is nicht?" "He speak another language," Wog whispered back, "It mean not." "Oh." Mogo looked at Hans. "So umm...where are you from anyway?" Hans stroked his chin. "I not sure you believe me if I say." "Why do you say that?" Hans ran his hand through his hair, then spoke. "I not from here. It is land from somewhere far away--a place you can only imagine. A place where we not fly by bird, but by other ways." "That must be good stuff you've been smoking." "Mogo. No more questions. He tired and not well," Wog said. "He hurt his ankle, not his head." "I'm okay. He is right, but I not smoke," Hans replied. "I said you not believe me." # 30 |
| #31 Mogo shrugged. "I not believe much of anything. You believe in volcano god?" "Sure," Hans said. "He spit fire. How can you not believe?" "I think fire just there same way river just there." "What you mean? River god cause river to be there." Mogo slapped his forehead. "Oh no, another believer. Gods everywhere. I suppose you think each tree have a god in it?" "Only the oldest ones. Young trees not have gods." How you know all that?" Mogo asked. "I learn it from ancestors. Knowledge passed on from generation to generation. We call it civilization. Maybe they don't have that where you come from." "Oh they have it. That's what I'm running away from. Oh well, if you want to think everything have a god in it you go ahead and believe that." "Thank you," Hans said. "I was waiting for your permission." Wog laughed. "Mogo have strange thoughts." Hans laughed with her. "You got that right!" Mogo sat in the corner and sulked. #31 |
| The night was uneventful, and thankfully Mogo didn't get naked and chant. Early morning brought the scent of brewed coffee or some such beverage Wog filled two coconut halves. She pointed to the drinks. "Mogo, you want?" He shook his head. Wog took Han's to him, and sat down. "Mogo lost. He not have anyone be there when he is down or confuzzled. It okay. The gods will watch him anyway." "Tink so?" "Of course." "Confuzzled? Is dat a word?" "Mog make it up, silly." "Ah." "It rude to talk about someone right in front of their face. Don't talk like I'm not here." Wog continued weaving the netting she was working on.. "We thought you done talking." "What are you making?" Mogo asked. "Oh this? I make a bed that hang from tree." {Judging from Han's height and weight, it had better be strong. Mogo thought. Wog seemed so domesticated as much as any cave woman could be and it was becoming. It was then that Mogo had an epiphany. He realized then that he missed Wog's non-stop chatter. It was then that he realized his mind had been clouded for who she was and what it meant to him. He was still discovering it more and more. But Wog was another story. When they had landed and not long after that Mogo appeared, Wog raised her fist and cursed to the gods. "Why this happen to me now!" She had finally pushed him out of her thoughts and heart. And then he resurfaced again. She's already developed a rapport with Han's and he treated her so well too. There was on reason to love Mogo anymore. Maybe he did her a favor by not giving her a real reason to. It was uncomfortable with him hanging about. It didn't seem to bother him much though. Maybe he just liked being annoying or maybe he wish he had what Han's had. How odd is it that he just happened to be where they were now. She spoke. "Mogo. You see anyone on your journey? You find what you were looking for?" # 32 |
| #33 Mogo laughed. "You still think I looking for someone like you?" "No!" Wog said, angry that she had bothered to talk to him. He always managed to say something stupid that pissed her off. "Well, it true," Mogo said. "I was looking for someone just like you." That intrigued Wog but Mogo didn't seem inclined to say anymore so she asked, "What you mean someone like me?" "Well," Mogo said. "I thought I wanted a beautiful woman who would be my friend and we would do things together and have long converstaions and cook meals together and share our lives." "Yes?" Wog said. "So why you not happy you find me?" Mogo pulled a crumpled note out of his loincloth and handed it to her to read. She could barely make out the writing because time and sweat had just about made the note unreadable. Mogo, I have decided I don't want to wander around in the wilderness with you. I am taking Azol back to the cave. With any luck at all we will live happily ever after. You, I am afraid, will wander through the wilderness until you become a sad, lonely, bitter old man. Good luck with that. Or maybe you will marry Polly Wog and have lots of little ugly wogglies to feed. Goodbye, Mogo Lola Wog thew the note at him. "This not from me! This from Lola!" "Yes, but Lola was everything I said I wanted and look what happened? She left me. So when you came along right after her, I not believe a thing you say. You understand?" "Because you bitter about Lola you not trust me?" "Right." Wog put her hands on her hips. "You know what, Mogo? I am so glad I found Hans, because life with you would have been hell, I think. You have serious unresolved issues." "Who teach you those words?" "Nobody teach me. All women know them." Mogo nodded. "That might be true. I hear Lola say the same thing." #33 |
| Wog moved about the campfire, quickly, her movements jerky and if she had a tail she'd be swishing it. Mogo just had to keep talking about that stuff. At least he didn't know about the baby she never had, that she thought they had made together. It would be just more ammunition for him to throw at her--a failure. What if Mogo was sterile from too much late nights with loose women at the cave? Maybe there'd always only be one Mogo in the entire world and the entire universe. And why did that soften her heart just a little. He was useful and entertaining in a odd sort of way, she reasoned, but hardly mating material, and worse yet, why was she thinking of that now? She looked toward Hans, who was busy carving something out of wood.. And then she wondered. What if we not concieve because I can't? She had to come up with a plan. The only way to prove it would be to reproduce. She'd been raised to make herself ready for mating and parenting, and taking care of her mate. And, yes, she did want babies, but it had to be perfect. Right man, right time, right place. And why rush things? She still had many more years ahead and could simply enjoy the pleasures of not having to deal with raising children. Yet fate has a way of twisting things out of proportion. No. She couldn't tell Mogo what was in her heart because she also didn't understand it herself. Maybe she had her own baggage. Besides, what cave man or woman thinks of such things anyway? #34 |
| #35 Mogo had a thoughtful look on his face. "You know what?" he said. Wog looked all around then back at Mogo. "You talking to me?" "Yes. I was just thinking. I was on my way to my future until I stopped to help you two out of your troubles. It's like I've made a detour, isn't it?" "I guess so," Wog said. "Does that word mean anything to you, Wog? Detour?" Wog shrugged. "Just a word, right? There are lots of words. That word important to you, Mogo?" "I was just thinking that sometimes a detour can be a lot of fun. Don't you think so?" "I don't know. Maybe make you late for where you going." "But what if The Detour is where you are going?" "Once again, Mogo, you fail to make sufficient sense to keep me interested in your conversation. I go now talk to Hans. He not only hunky but make sense when he talk. Maybe you learn something from him." "Maybe," Mogo said and started drawing stick figures in the sand with a stick. #35 |
| Wog continued to think about what Mogo had said and the word he used--detour. It was an odd sounding word, but somehow familiar. She continued on down her path and found Hans sitting at the water's edge, his feet inside the water. She crouched down behind him, putting her arms around his shoulder. He smiled and leaned his head against her arm. "Mogo acting strange." "Oh?" "He talk about detour. Ask me about it." "That's interesting. What all did he say about detour?" "Nothing really. I not understand him." There was something odd about Hans, yet Mogo couldn't quite put his finger on it. The guy didn't talk like they did, for one thing. And he was much taller than either Mogo or Wog, and he had less hair, and none of it sprouting out on his back like most cave men have. He must have been an outcast in his own village, wherever his village was. And then it ocurred to Mogo. Maybe he's a God! What if he'd been sent to Earth to accomplish something. He shook his head. Maybe he's some kind of alien. But from where? How? Mogo kept drawing in the sand trying to figure out this being who was so different. And why Wog was so interested in him, after having such a crush on himself. Oh, but she was determined to have him then. #36 |
| #37 Wog tugged at Hans' loincloth. "Hans, are you a god?" Hans laughed. "Wirklich nicht! But I am something you can not even dream of." "What?" she said. "What?" Even Mogo looked up at Hans' mysterious words. "What are you Hans? You have to tell us now." "Very well," Hans said. "But you vill not believe me... I am a visitor from der future." "The future!" Mogo said. "But that's where I am going! You've already been there? What's it like?" "I vas born there," Hans said. "It vas an accident that I come here. I vas vorking on a project and something goes wrong. Boom! ...And here I am." Mogo frowned. "You were BORN in the future? Now I do not believe you, Hans." "I believe him!" Wog said. Mogo waved her away. "Pshaw! You believe anything. You believe him because he is tall and blonde." "No," she said. "You can see Hans is very different from us and he knows all kinds of things we don't know." "Like what?" Wog turned to Hans. "Tell us something we don't know." But Hans had become sad. "Yah, here I am trapped in der past vid a bunch of Neanderthals. Vat a fate for a great scientist." "He called us Neanderthals," Mogo said. Wog scratched her belly. "Is that good or bad?" #37 |
Hans spoke. "I can explain. In Wikipedia it says..." "What is this Wiki whatever?" "It's an online....Ah never mind. In the future, not only will you be able to see other lands without moving, or talk to friends and family without being in front of someone, but you can communicate without er...the usual device." "Can you speak in words that make sense?" Mogo asked. "First off, a Neandertal aka Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia. Neanderthals are classified either as a subspecies of modern humans or as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis)." "What that mean?" Wog asked. "It means you and your species are not only rare, but will be extinct. Will no longer be. Kaput." "Because your people and mine battle?" Mogo stiffened and raised his club. "No. Not at all. At least I don't think so." "I no like we go kaput, Hans," Wog said. "That sound like no fun." Mogo jerked Wog aside. "I not believe him. He is crazy." He raised his club and stepped toward Hans. Hans stood up and backed away, dodging the swing of his club one way then another. "You're making a mistake." "Look! He not defend himself. He know I'm right," Mogo said. "Mogo!" Wog screamed. She darted between the men. "Get out of way, Wog! I mean it. We kill him now and not be extinct." Hans said, "No. We battle if we must. Get it over with. I tink you just jealous because I take your woman!" Mogo stopped only momentarily, and spoke between gritted teeth. "You not take Wog, fool. She go on her own. She like you because there are no other choices. She want me first." "Stop! I won't let you hurt each other." She moved between them again, spreading her arms wide, her hands on their chests. "You want kill each other, then kill me first." "You want him?" they both asked in unision. The men looked at each other. "I not talk about it." Wog replied. "I know you not care about the others, but this mean you die also." She turned to Hans. "And you kill him then you maybe not exist. That make no sense." Wog saw the dawn of truth in their eyes. Mogo dropped his club. "Okay, I not kill him today, but I keep it on my to-do list, just in case" "If you kill Hans, he the future, then we really go kaput," Wog said. "Go! Sit. Both of you. No more fighting." Then men nodded. #38 |
| #39 Hans sat with his butt on the ground, his back against a boulder, and his hands behind his head. He was gazing at the clouds. "This prehistoric sky is really beautiful." "You no have sky in future?" Wog asked. "Oh we have a sky but it's filled with airplanes and noise and harsh chemicals. It's not like this sky." "Oh. We have better sky?" Hans smiled. "Yah! In some vays it is a lot better here. You know what would be funny? If I should father some children here. Then my children would have children and eventually part of the population of the earth of the future would be the descendants of Hans. There could be millions of them! Truly amazing!" "You want children?" Wog asked. She smiled and patted her bosom. "Me young. Have much milk. Give you many kids." Hans gazed at Wog's ample breasts. "Nice. Yes, I guess if I am going to be stranded here I should make the best of it. You say you lived in a cave where there were other women?" "Oh yes. Cave full of men and women and children. We a good tribe. I don't know why Mogo left." Mogo said, "You know why I left. Boredom. I want to go to my future. Not die in some stinky cave." Hans turned to Wog. "What about you, mine frau? Why did you leave the cave?" "To follow Mogo, but that big mistake. If I could do over I would not do." Mogo said, "I wonder what Azol and Lola are up to? They should have reached the cave by now." "You know what they up to," Wog said. "Azol and Lola do the Boogie Woogie together. Make lots of children." #39 |
| "Eh, okay." "Maybe she give him more than children," Wog said. "He probably break out and die of some horrible disease." "Why you talk like that? That not nice. You just jealous." "She be cave hostess with the mostest bad mojo. I no touch her even with yours." "I guess you wouldn't." Mogo thought about how he'd have touched her some and maybe several dozen more times, but she got too itchy and went for Azol. He shrugged. No loss there. He wasn't heartbroken. It was more like a blow to his ego that she'd be so easy and just go off like that with some loser. "So Hans. If you are from the future, what are you doing here? Think back about what you were doing at that precise moment. Maybe that is a clue. Too bad you can't reverse the process." "What you say, Mogo? I no want Hans to leave." Wog wrapped her arm around Hans. "You stay? We get busy and repopulate soon." # 40 |
| #41 "It's true," Hans said. "There is no way back for me. It requires a huge complicated machine. There is no way to duplicate it here." "What's a machine?" Mogo asked. "Ah! That the problem. There is not even any idea here of what a machine is. I'll show you some simple machines, OK?" "OK. Me always willing to be entertained." Mogo sat down on his crossed legs. Hans took a long stick and stuck one end under a boulder. Then he placed a rock under the stick to use as a fulcrum. "This is a lever. See how I can lift this rock? It was too heavy to lift with my hands but with the lever I can do it." Mogo clapped his hands. "Cool! So a machine is a stick?" "No, not just a stick. Give me a moment." Hans gathered up a dozen round logs, laid them out on the ground, and levered the boulder on to some of them. "Now watch. These are rollers. See how I can push the boulder along on them?" Again Mogo was pleased. "Very good, Hans. I think you be good at moving rocks around with your lever and your rollers. But why you want to move rocks around?" "So we can build things!" Mogo was puzzled. "Build? What is build?" "We can make an a cave out of rocks. We don't need to find a natural cave. We can make our own cave. It will be a building. We will build it." Mogo's mouth fell open. "We can make a cave? That would be amazing, Hans. It would mean we could increase the population of our tribe without limit. Alwways be new places to live. Not be limited to available caves. Make our own caves!" Mogo began jumping up and down. "Holy Smokin' Dinosaurs! This most exciting thoughts I have in long time! I think I getting close to my future!" Hans smiled. It was good to make someone happy. #41 |
| And so Hans and Mogo watched their pile of rocks grow, while Wog supervised. "Over there," she told Mogo. He hauled the boulder to the other side of the circle, with Han's help. Wog was busy weaving the long tapered leaves of the trees together, maybe to make a welcome mat. She spoke again. "No. That's not going to work. Over there." The two men looked at each other then moved it first one way then another and then back again at least three times. "No no..to the right." "Would you make up my mind? How come you not work?" "Because you man. You suppose to work hard, sweat, protect others, hunt and kill innocent little animals then eat them. What you kill lately?" Mogo grunted and stood up, his feet were shoulder width apart, his arms crossed about his hairy little chest. He pointed to the boulder. "It stay right here," he growled. Of course he wouldn't listen. Let him find out the hard way. She shrugged. # 42 |
| #43 Eventually the pile of rocks grew into walls and then they added a roof. "This is great!" Mogo said. "Hans, you are a genius!" Hans shrugged. "In my future we had buildings a hundred times better, but I guess this is pretty impressive for you cave dwellers." "Well, I not impressed," Wog said. "Roof leak. Cave much better. Cave never leak." "But the fresh air flow is better in my building," Hans said. "Bah! Fresh air! Just walk outside cave and get plenty of fresh air. Also cave better protection against wild animals." Mogo put his hands on his hips. "I think Hans built a fine building. Now all we have to do is build a fire pit for cooking." "No fire pit inside building," Hans said. "Roof will burn." "See?" Wog said. "Can build fire in cave! Cave much better." #43 |
| Wog wondered why Mogo was hanging around. It put a cramp in Wog's style. How could she be alone with Hans with him hanging about? After all it was over between them. He'd made it perfectly clear that he just didn't want her anyway. Hans on the other hand was not only helpful, but quite patient. He had no obvious pangs of jealousy. In fact, the two of them seemed to get along rather too well. She sat with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Finally, she returned to her weaving. "Hans! Come look. I made a roof for the rock building." "Dats wunderbar, meine liebchen!" He pulled her to him and gave her a quick kiss. "Ve vill put it up in a few minutes." Mogo watched Hans and Wog interact and it was different than what he'd experienced back in the cave. Wog seemed to blossom because of it, while it brought a smile to Han's face. He wondered what it would be like to be treated like that, and how Hans had learned how to. Maybe he had previous experience. He also wondered what other amazing things Han's might teach them. # 44 |
| #45 Mogo wondered if he was developing a crush on Hans. Naw, that couldn't be. Hans was too hairy and smelly. Of course, so was Wog, but at least she was a woman. No, Mogo was feeling something else, maybe admiration. Yeah, that was it. He admired Hans because Hans had brains and knowledge. But then, Hans was from the future. Probably the men of the future were all like gods. They knew so much and could do so much. The air near Mogo began to hum and quaver. Mogo jumped aside. "What the hell that?" A man popped into existence right in front of him. Mogo fell over backwards, then sat up quick. "Who you?" "Oh, hello," the stranger said. "I'm from the future. This is a bit of good luck popping in right where some humanoids are encamped. Well, not completely luck, I suppose, since Professor Throckmorton did propose that the time modification field would be attracted to any humanoid life forms in the vicinity because of the time loop resonance effects." Mogo slapped his forehead. "What you say? It sound like talk but words have no meaning!" The stranger chuckled and extended a hand to help Mogo to his feet. "They have no meaning for you, my good fellow, because you are a cave man. I say, you're a lot filthier than I expected. Are there no water supplies near by?" "Water? Yes, we have water. Lots of water. You thirsty?" "Not at the moment. My name is Doctor Paxton, by the way. I'm a Time Scientist. What's your name?" "Mogo." "Are those your friends over there by that rock hut? The blonde man and the cave woman that he is kissing? My, that's a disgusting sight." "That is Hans and Wog. Oh! Hans from the future, too!" "What?!" Paxton said. "By Jove! Wouldn't that be jolly if it's true!" #45 |
| Hans had walked up as the two were conversing. "I am Hans Kneechie. By der way, if you don't mind me zaying zo, I tink you meant blond. Blonde means female, which I'm not." He shook the newcomer's hand. "And dis is my meine lovely companion, Wog." His smile was courteous. He nodded. "Good to meet you, Wog." "I'm curious, Dr. Paxton. What made you decide to pop into dis existence?" "What better way to study homo sapiens, if not do it in person?" "Yes, and possibly save der human race, before all der changes occur." As you know, change is inevitable my good fellow. I believe you and I have much to talk about. Would you like to take a stroll?" "Want me go, Hans?" Wog asked. "Maybe not dis time, love. We might talk in scientific terms and it might be hard to understand. Will you excuse us?" Mogo pounded his chest and gave the two men a look. "I go too." "You hear Hans. He say we are Neanderthals. We not understand and we not go." "I man," Mogo pointed at himself. "I not stupid." "What does that mean? I woman. I not stupid either." The two were going back and forth, and didn't notice that the two men had wandered off, leaving Wog and Mogo bickering about who wasn't stupid or stupider. "Some things never change, Hans. It's amazing women and men haven't killed each other off eons ago. Do you mind if I call you Hans?" Dr. Paxtion said. "I prefer it. Apparently, derr behavior ist perhaps an example of the Venus/Mars concept." "Oh, you mean Man Speak/ Woman Speak?" "Yes. It makes a person wonder if der species will ever really understand each other." Soon they were deep in discussion about the marvels of time travel, and it's limitations, and all the interesting phenomena of the era. # 46 |
| #47 It wasn't until after they had been talking an hour that they realized they were both from the same century, the 21st. "By Jove!" Doctor Paxton said. "Surely you don't mean Project Rupture! I was in the English division." "Jah! Project Rupture! Technically I vas in der German division but I vas on loan to der American CIA ven der whole lab went kerblooey and I ended up back here. Vat about you?" "Oh, in my case it was quite deliberate, old man. But this is incredible that I should end up in the same time and place as you. Perhaps this particular locale is like a time magnet attracting time travelers from everywhere." Hans ran his fingers through his thick blond♪ hair. "I don't see how dat could be. Also, vudn't der be tousands of time travelers here if dat ver so?" "By Jove, you're right. Well, it was just a theory. Toss it out with the rest of my mistakes. But are you saying you thought you were stranded here?" "Vell, jah, I guess I did tink I vud never get home again." "And so that's why you were smooching with that cave woman?" "You saw dat? I don't vant o talk about dat. But vat are you trying to tell me? Dat I am NOT stranded here?" "No, of course not, old man. You can go back to the 21st century with me. Isn't that great news?" "Can I take Wog with me?" #47 |
| "Wog, It's rather odd that two scientists show up here suddenly. I beginning to feel like we are specimens in a petri dish." "What is petri dish?" "I don't know but Hans talked about them one time while we were hunting around in the bush. It must be some kind of bowl that you don't eat out of. At least, i hope that's true." Wogs eyes got big. "You tink they are cannibals from another time?" "Why else would he feed you so well? Look at you--all filled out and poking out here and there." "No! You are wrong. Hans not eat me." Mogo's laugh was hearty at the look on Wog's face. "Hah hah. I scare you." "You think that funny?" Wog's eyes became slitted. "Don't do that ever again." "You say that a lot, and always think I listen. Me man. Me not listen." "Too bad you so proud of you. One day you will see." They didn't talk for several minutes while Wog pounded some hard shelled fruit on rocks so that i might split open. Mogo was concentrating on the way Wog's flesh jiggled as she pounded. "What if they go away and leave us here to die?" "They not do that." Then he added. "How they leave?" "Same way they got here? What if Hans not tell truth? " He looked in the direction where they'd gone, and walked toward it. "Let's go see where our time travelers are now." Wog followed. They'd just come up on them, when they heard the men talking. "No, of course not, old man," Doctor Paxton had said. "You can go back to the 21st century with me. Isn't that great news?" "Can I take Wog with me?" Hans asked. Wog's heart beat a bit faster. Aww. she almost said out loud. She thought her heart might burst out of her chest, but it quickly was squashed in two seconds. "I'm afraid, good fellow that you can't. If you remember, we are of the future. Wog's future would be non existent. For her to be in the future would mean a possible time crunch which would increase her age tremendously. She might even die in the process, then again, maybe not. And for us, it means...er. maybe we better take a look. over there in that pond." And so the two men stared into the reflection in the water. "I dare say, good fellow. I do look much younger and dashing than I did in the 21st century.. How about you?" "I do not care!" Hans picked up a rock and threw it with such velocity. It flew through the air like a missile and hit something and then fell to the ground. Doctor Paxton put his hand on Han's shoulder. "I am sorry." "I do not vish to leave my Wog here alone fending vor herself, but I not want her to die either." "Let's not think about it right now. Maybe we should test our muscle strength and focus. Grab another rock. I have mine I saw something move over there,." he pointed. "Maybe we kill it and eat it." He threw it in the same direction Hans had. Pretty soon they were firing them off right and left, and laughing like a couple of pre-adolescent school kids looking at a girly magazine. . "This feels kind of like midget tossing." Over in the bushes, Mogo groaned, yet not loud enough for the men to hear. "Mogo! " Wog whispered. "What you doing down there on the ground and why your head bleeding?" Mogo struggled to his feet. Wog bent over to scratch her ankle. Another missile hit the unfortunate target--him, and caused Mogo to tumble to the ground again. "Mogo, you always trying to be the clown. Get up, silly man." Just then the professors walked toward their kill. "It must be weak. It's in here somewhere." The bushes parted and they stared at the ground where Mogo and Wog had previously been before they scattered off. "Nothing here," Dr. Paxton said. Hans leaned back on a rock nearby. His hand touched something wet. He looked. "Doctor Paxton, dis ist blood. Our kill not far." he said as they tromped off into the forest. # 48 |
| #49 Hans patted Doctor Paxton's shoulder. "Ven do you go back? Vill dey come and get you?" "No, nothing like that, old boy. Twenty-four hours after I arrived here I will be snatched back automatically." "How long have you been here?" "Not long. A few hours." "But den how ver you going to get me back?" "All you have to do is hold my hand at the proper time. Whoever's hand I am holding will go back with me?" Hans nodded. "I see. Your time machine is working different from the one at my lab. At my lab you had to take a remote control back in time with you." "We considered that, but figured it would be too dangerous. What if you lost the remote?" "Yah. Your way is better. Automatic retrieval. I like it." "Look! There's our quarry! I'm afraid we were pounding our host." Doctor Paxton and Hans hurried over to where Mogo was nursing his wounds. "Sorry, old man!" Paxton said. "We thought you were a tiger." Mogo frowned. "You need to practice rock safety when hunting. Even smallest cave boy know that." #49 |
| They found Wog sprawled out in the bushes. "Is she still alive?" Mogo asked. Hans rushed over to her. "Wog! Wake up, Wog. Don't die on me. Who will I share my warmth with when winter comes? Who vill beat my clothes clean? Who will be with me to pick der bugs out of mein hair?" Doctor Paxtion shuddered. "Bugs, you say? She will be okay. I can see her heartbeat in her throat. Not to be harsh, dear fellow, but it won't matter in a few hours anyway." Wog opened her eyes, and focused on Hans. A crease crossed his brow. "is it true? I cannot go with you?" She clung to him. "Oh Hans. You will go away, I not see you again, and I not know if you are okay." "I am always okay if I am with you. I villl not go anywhere, that you cannot go." "You promise?" The edges of her lip turned upward. "Yes, my beautiful Wog. It is a promise," he said. "Beautiful?" Mogo rolled his eyes. "Tell me. Are the woman any different in your time than ours?" Doctor Paxton scratched his chin. "Similar yes as far as stature. There are so many variables. It is like a Heinz 57 or Baskins 31 Flavor world." "Oh. Well, that makes it all clear to me now. Let me ask you again. Are the woman any different in your time than ours?" "Yes and no." Then Doctor Paxtion grinned. "You're not going to answer me are you. You keep talking in riddles." "I hadn't really thought about it much, but am answering you. You are not hearing me. There are women in several shapes and sizes. The have lots of different hair color and styles.They wear much more clothes than you do, sometimes. Some women are dynamic and more dominant than men are. They are usually less hairy than yours, except for the rebellious armpit and leg hair growing variety." "Oh now that's attractive. And what of the men?" "Let's see. Men are still hairy, but usually taller. They no longer carry clubs around with them but instead have guns that shoot, and knives that stab. They also enjoy blowing up things, and I don't mean balloons. Some still revert back to the dragging the woman around activities. Still others adopt the more balancing type of relationships. Still more demure and docile sometimes to the extreme. Oh yes, and it is no longer just women coupling with men, but sometimes women with women and men with men." "Oh?" Mogo scratched his head. "How they make babies then?" "Well, they don't exactly make babies." "Then why they be together?" "That's hard to answer. Maybe have a preference for several reasons. it depends upon the individuals involved. Maybe they don't care either way." "Sounds like a mixed up existence." "You think? How do you know that nobody in your tribe of people have preferences--latent or not?" "No such thing." Mogo thought about all those strange faint sounds he'd heard coming from the deepest recesses of of the cave. "No. That not make sense." He shook his head, as if shaking the horrifying images out of it. Maybe they couldn't sleep and had taken their pick, felt their way around in the dark together, and went night mining. "That interesting about your clan, Doctor Paxtion. Hans, you have anything to add to that?" Hans was thoughtful. "Let me tink a little about it...." # 50 |
| #51 Mogo stood a little way apart from the group and watched them talk and gesture. What happened to me, he thought. I was on my way to my future. Now here I am stuck with these people. How did I lose control of my life? He turned his back on the group and started walking away from them. This my story, he thought. My life about me, not about all these other people. Me the star. They just scenery. The hell with them. Wog watched Mogo walk away. Something about the determination in his stride disturbed her. Was he in another one of his moods? "Wait, Mogo!" she called "Wait!" "What you want?" Mogo asked as Wog ran up to him. "Where are you going, Mogo? You have a funny look on your face." "That because I just regain control of my life. All you people dead to me now." "Mogo!" Wog protested. "You know that's not true. We're not dead." Mogo waved his hand back and forth. "Just figure of speech. It mean I go away now and be the star of my life." "That's very anti-social, Mogo." "That the point. I no want any more society. I want just Mogo. Mogo the hero. Mogo the star. Mogo make the news." Wog rubbed his shoulder. "But Mogo. You'll get so lonely. Do you want to be all by yourself on a rainy night when the lightning is flashing and the thunder is rumbling and you can hear a big dinosaur crashing through the underbrush?" Mogo pictured it in his mind. "N-n-no, not really. But sometime you have to pay the price if you want complete control of your life." "You won't have any more sex with anybody if you're out there by yourself." Mogo pictured that. "You right. That another big price to pay. Getting expensive." "And nobody will ever cook any food for you or help you make your clothes or sing with you or listen to your stories or-" "Alright! Alright! Mogo make mistake. Maybe stardom not all it cracked up to be." Wog grinned. "So you will come back and be a part of our little group?" "Yeah, I guess so." Mogo followed Wog back to camp, dragging his feet and feeling frustrated. #51 |
| "Ist someting bothering my little wog?" Hans said to her as his arms came around her. "No. Not really." Hans knew what that meant. When a woman says "not really" or "it doesn't matter", it does matter really. He took her hand. "Tell me. Vat is on your mind." "Oh Hans. If we go, Mogo be all alone and maybe be sad." "My dear Wog. You haben such a big harrt." "I was not looking for my futur,e but found it in you. He was looking for his future and now what? Can he go too? How many people fit in the time travel capsule?" "What time travel capsule? What makes you tink of dat?" "I overheard you and the doctor talking about such things." "Oh. That must have been ven he talk about tv shows. The time capsule ist not about time travel. Ist vay to keep tings so that many years later, people in der future open it and see items that belonged to der people in the past, and get an idea of how they lived." "There no time travel capsule?" "No. But we go back and you and I will be together. Der ist so much I vant to show you. I lken hardly vait." "Oh me too. I go with you and be happy wherever we are." "Let me go tell Mogo." Wog sat down on the rock next to Mogo, while he busied himself with some rocks. "What you doing?" "I build something." "What is it?" she asked. "I will catch one of those birds like Azol has. I need a pet. And I can use it for other reasons too." "Oh. Sound like good idea." She watched him work. "Mogo, I need to talk to you about something." "About what?" "I sorry I want you like I did. You not want it, and you give me nasty herb and make me hate you, but now I know I still care what happen to you." "Are we going to talk about that again. Let it go." He walked toward the stream. She followed. "Stop. At least hear my words. It only fair." He wouldn't even look at her. She turned away anyway, in case he might see her blinking away tears that threatened to spill out soon. "I go with Hans into future...and....you....here alone. I sorry now that you not even have Lola. She not good to you but you chose her go with you. Maybe I spoil it." "No. It okay," he said. He could see now how he must have hurt her. Mogo's eyes softened a little, after hearing her words. Someone cares. Okay, so she left him behind before, leaving him open to the lusty gorilla he'd encountered, but it wasn't entirely her own fault. Her voice trembled as she continued. "You look toward future. I not. I know this be your dream. If not for Hans, I would stay behind so you go, but now I can't because I want be with Hans. Still, it make me sad. I not know if you even want to go to that future. It sound like big scary place." What was she saying? That she'd miss me? Of course she would. After all wasn't he the brilliant, fearless, fun and funny, and handsome one that made living in the wild worthwhile? He smoothed his hair subconsciously. "It's time!" Doctor Paxion said. "We must hurry. Hold hands and don't let go." They gathered together, almost in a circle. "We will sing to ease the transition. Just follow my lead. ~Kum baya, my lord. Kum baya~." Just as the air began to shimmer and vibrate, Wog let out a scream like none other, one which echoed through the trees, bounced off rocks and skidded across the water. The men stood frozen, staring at her stomach as it moved downward. She screamed again, yet their hands held tight. The shimmering stopped momentarily, but the air still vibrated. # 52 |
"What's happening?" Hans said. "Just hold on tight!" Doctor Paxton yelled. "I told you there might be trouble if we brought Wog with us. It seems to be slowing the process somehow." The three of them hung in an empty space, not totally black, but seeming to be filled with a grey fog. The screaming of Wog continued at full volume until Hans slapped her with his free hand. "Shut up! We vill be alright!" But when they popped out into the future at a secret laboratory in Costa Rica of Project Rupture, everything was not all right. Hans and Doctor Paxton stared in horror at a Wog who who was withered and old. At her feet was the skeleton of a baby. "Vat happened to her?" Hans said, resisting the urge to puke on the concrete floor of the lab. There was a beeping sound nearby where lights on a control board twinkled. Doctor Paxton felt Wog's pulse. "I warned you about this. She aged. And apparently she had the baby and it died while we were time traveling." Hans gave free rein to his desire to puke. When he was through he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and said, "What can we do? I am responsible for this." "If she doesn't go back immediately she is going to die, but the only way she could go back is if someone went with her." "Then I vill go," Hans said. "And vill she return to her youth?" "Yes, but I'm afraid it's too late for the baby. Death is irreversible." Hans clasped Wog in his arms. "Then send us back now! Before it is too late! Do it!" "I have to set it up." Doctor Paxton hurried over to the control board and quickly adjusted some dials. "Ready?" He punched a red button and Hans and Wog vanished. Mogo was sitting by his campfire, feeling lonely and rejected, when the air shimmered and Hans and Wog popped into view. "You're back!" Mogo said. Hans helped Wog sit down. "Yah, we are back. It vas a lousy trip. Are you OK, mein darling?" "I think so," Wog said. "Hey, what happened to my big belly?" "The baby is gone." "Gone?" Wog said. "Hans, you know powerful magic. But why you have to take my baby?" "I didn't want to," Hans said. "It was an accident. We'll make another baby! I want to be your husband and live here with you forever!" Wog threw her arms around Hans. "Oh, Hans! You make me so happy!" #53 |
The men were busy collecting wood, when Wog found her trusty slingshot, and used it on the them.. "Wog! Stop! Ouch that hurt! Vat are you doing?" "Ooh. Oww!" cried Mogo. "Has she gone crazy from her trip?" He darted forward, Hans stopped him.. "If you don't stop her, I'm going to and it won't be pretty," Mogo said. "Halten Sie! Wog stoppen immediately!" She stopped temporarily, but reloaded her sling shot. "Why you use us forr target? Dat ist not nice. I thought we live happily ever after?" "I just remembered something. When we go to future, Wog in pain, YOU slapped Wog!" You no do that! Bad thing, so this be your forever after." And so she chased him around and through the trees, and over hills, narrowly missing him. Occasionally he felt a stinging sensation on his thigh or the back of his neck. When he didn't see her anymore, he stopped to take a few breaths and then she crashed through a clump of bushes and chased him up mountains and through streams and then back to the campfire and into the rock cave. He bent over panting, out of breath. "Okay! Okay~ I'm sorry!" he finally said. "Good! I tired now." And Wog walked away, found a spot outside the rock cave, laid down and pulled her pelts over her and went to sleep, leaving Hans standing by himself in the dark. Relieved that she'd finally ran out of energy, he called out, "Psst! Mogo! Now what we do? I tink I stuck here with woman who hate me." Hans looked around him. "Hallo? Where are you?" Just then he saw the Mogo's silhouette, standing where they'd stood when the trio had left the era. The light shimmered again. "Vat arr you doing?" "I go to my future now," he said. Just as quickly both the light and him disappeared. #54 |
| #55 Doctor Paxton was still puttering around in the time lab when Mogo popped into view. "Oops," Paxton said. "Sorry, old man. My elbow must have bumped the control lever. Back you go." Mogo popped back out in his own time and collapsed to the ground. "Whooeee!" he said. "I went to Hell and see a demon! It was awful!" "Serve you right," Wog said. "Maybe now you change your ways and be nice to me." "I am nice to you," Mogo said. "Do I have to marry you to prove how nice I am?" Wog batted her eyelashes. "That would be nice." "Well, forget it!" Mogo said. "Anyway, you might be mad at Hans now but you will make up with him soon." "How you know that?" "Because I know you. And Hans love you more than I do. That count for something, doesn't it?" #55 |
| "You not love me and Hans does? What make Hans or any man any different than another?" She looked in her lap. "Mogo, maybe there no such thing as love. Man hit woman. Woman hate man. Only obey out of fear. I not live in fear. I go and never come back! How I know the slap not kill cause baby to die? Baby gone! It not even have name, and what he say? 'We'll make another baby'.. It not replace this baby." Facing away from him, she stiffened and held her breath, taking in only enough to keep from passing out, her way of self control, and she hoped nobody noticed her weakness. Hans was standing nearby and approached. "That not all I said. You tink you der only one to have feelings?" She wouldn't look at him. "What happened has happened. Cannot change that. I cope in my own way. You not think I care? Child was part yours too. I thought I make you happy by having another one." Hans looked at Mogo then back at Wog. "Tell him." Mogo looked up. "Tell me what?" Wog made a face at Hans, and shook her head. "I go now. Need pick berries. Bye." Hans and Mogo continued patching up a holes in the stone cave, caused by the occasional vibrations from the earth. "She'll be okay soon. Sorry you and Wog baby die." "It sad, but der baby not mine." "You mean that.... " It became crystal clear. "Oh no. That not possible." "It true. We thought she not haben baby, but she just not look like it. It vas yours." "And she not even tell me?" "She not know. Think it mistake." Mogo pounded some more small rocks into the crevices, then winced when he smacked himself on the thumb. He trotted over to the water, and stuck his hand in. You could almost hear it sizzle. # 56 |
| #57 One day Mogo decided it was time to go look for his future again. He asked Hans and Wog to come with him. "Oh no," Wog said. "Another long trek through the wilderness? Why can't we stay in one place?" "One place is boring," Mogo said. "Always the same - eat, sleep, catch animal, eat, sleep. Let's go see the world. What about you, Hans?" Hans shrugged. "I have to admit dat ever since I find out vat life is like without der television I have been dissatisfied. I too would like some adventure." "Oh, alright!" Wog said. "Let's go on another road trip. I just wish we didn't have to walk." "Me too," Hans said, "but dat's all you guys got back here in der past." "We could ride a dinosaur," Mogo said. "Jah! One of dose really big ones!" Hans said. "I wondered when you were going to mention dat." "It's not easy, Hans," Mogo said. "First you have to gain the dinosaur's trust and friendship." "Jah! Jah! Let's do it!" #57 |
| "I tink first we must corral him in. It is a him? Which hast a better ride--der pink ones or der blue ones?" "But Mogo, didn't you finish up on those bird catchers? Or is there no birds yet?" "They should be here any day. Maybe they are on back order." "But those are babies?" "It depends on what's available. I could always go pick it up, but that would be backtracking." "You think Azol and umm what' s her name went all the way. to the tribe?" "Don't know." "Okay, well vee'll follow you." Hans turned to Wog. "Okay, Pumpkin?" # 58 |
| #59 "Yes, Pudding," Wog said. "I am ready." "Look over there!" Mogo said. "I am sure there is a big dinosaur. I see footprints leading in that direction, I smell dino poop, and I hear him roaring." "It is scary, jah?" Hans said. "Vat we do? Walk right up and say hello, dinosaur, I want to ride you?" "Not quite that easy," Mogo said. "But not too worry. Dinosaur very dumb. Once we on his back he think we cleaner birds. You know cleaner birds?" "Are they like birds that hang around dinosaurs and pick lice and bugs off their scales?" "That's it," Mogo said. "So when we on his back he think it a good thing. He think we just cleaner birds" "But how do we make him go where we want him to go?" "Berries on a stick," Mogo said. "This dinosaur the kind we call Berryeater. He love berries. We tie bunch of berries to long stick. Hold it to his left he go left. Hold it to his right he go right." "I see," Hans said. "Very clever. We in der future call it carrot on a stick so I know the idea. In der future ve have lots of tings on a stick. Even deep-fried butter on a stick." "What is butter?" Wog asked. Hans scratched his head. "That's right. You have not invented der cows yet. But when you do, then you vill have der butter." #59 |
| * The trek on the dinosaurs "Dat remind me, vat you trink besides vater?" he asked. "We drink juice from fruit that we get from trees." Wog pointed. "See that tree there. It have nut with juice in it." Hans looked in that direction. ""Not there." Wog said, and put her hands on his head and turned it more. "There!" "Oh yes. It looks similar to der common coconut palm." Once Mogo managed to lure the berry eating dinosaur, the trio moved toward it, ready to mount. "Uhoh." Hans said. "What's wrong?" Mogo asked and then saw two baby dinosaurs flatten out a few bushes. The mother dino let out a sound and the little ones rushed over and lined up behind her. "I vonder if there is a daddy too," Hans said. "I looked. Did not see any. So...no." "We need more stick with die berries." Hans said. "No. Babies will follow the mother," Mogo replied. Several minutes later they were on their way, Mogo on the lead, Hans and Wog on the other two. Along the way, Wog pointed out the different plants and trees, and Hans filed the info into the back of his filing cabinet brain. The view was beautiful up on top. And it was quiet except for the usual forest sounds. The ride wasn't too bad either as they slowly loped along. Wog grew tired and could have fallen asleep up there, but didn't ever watchful for unexpected things happening. Hans had to keep readjusting himself, and was thankful that at least the dinos were going at a slow pace. #6 0 |
| #61 After an hour or so Hans yelled, "Hey! Can we halt for a while? My butt is sore! I am not used to this!" "Sure!" Mogo said. "I guess you guys from the future don't have tough asses like we cavemen do." "I guess not," said Hans as he climbed down the tail of his dino and then stood rubbing his butt. "You want me rub it for you?" Wog asked. "That vud be very nice!" Hans said. He lay down in the sand to let Wog massage his aching butt cheeks. Mogo rolled his eyes. "I go look for dinner." Always the search for food was on the minds of the cavemen. Without refrigerators, food always had to be fresh. Not a bad thing, really. He returned with two turtles, a large bird, a big root, and a handful of leaves. "Tonight we have turtle soup, roast fowl, taters, and greens!" Hans was asleep. Mogo said, "That must be real good massage you give, Wog." Wog winked. "I give him happy ending. You want help cooking dinner?" "Help?" Mogo said. "Cooking dinner your job. I hunt food, you cook it." "Oh well," Wog said. "At least you can clean the turtles." #61 |
| And so they did not waste anything. "We at fancy way tonight." Wog served their dinner in the shells halves of the turtles. After the men had their belching contest going on, Wog waited for them to finish to announce her very special surprise. "Attention. I have very special dessert. Voila!" Then she uncovered the delicious looking item. After they ate, she told them, "Dino Egg custard." "Oh, Dinos don't lay eggs, do they?" "Of course they do, silly." Wog said. "You no like it?" # 62 |
"It's very goot!" Hans said. "A bit leathery though." "What about you, Mogo?" Wog asked. "You like?" "I've had better, but not bad for camping out. Next time make sure you get all the shell bits out." Wog crossed her arms. "If there IS a next time. You don't deserve special goodies." "Probably not," Mogo said. "Who wants to see the new trick I taught Thunderlegs?" "Who is Thunderlegs?" "Our dinosaur!" #63 |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
