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Lam

Lam slid his foot silently through the grass, muscles aching in protest. Fighting the urge to finish the step, he carefully shifted his balance and planted his weight atop a small tuft of grass, crushing it with only the faintest of rustlings. Leaning left, he rebalanced again, smoothly pulling up his other foot, ignoring the shrieking of his sinews, focusing all of his attention on the great beast grazing just two spear-lengths away. It snorted and gasped contentedly as it munched on the grass, its muzzle stained green and brown.

I’m only going to get one shot at this. He studied the beast’s head and neck, looking for fast kill targets. “The eyes, “ his father had once said, pointing at the skull of a caribou, a group of children staring wide-eyed at the remains. Lam could still remember the reek of blood rising from the newly scraped bone. “The eyes are always a good target, on any animal. And the neck, “ the man said, his hand circling in the empty space below and behind the skull. “is effective as well, but not usually as quick.”

The animal’s horns jutted out to the sides in wide plates, finger-like projections rising into the air at the fringes – like an upturned hand. They presented a problem. He couldn’t see how he could hit the eye cleanly with those antlers shielding the top. The neck, on the other hand, was much larger, and more importantly, clear of the nasty thicket of spikes that wound their way up from the base of the skull.

Once more his father’s voice came to him. “Grip your spear firmly with both hands, and drive it down into the target, yelling out with your power. Strike hard, and pull the spear back out quickly, or it will become a weapon for the beast if you miss the mark.”

His heart was flopped about like a fish lying on the riverbank. His hands were trembling as he tightened his grip, and his palms suddenly wet with sweat.

Ready…. one -

He swallowed thickly and sucked in a deep breath.

Two.

He launched himself forward, screaming in rage and terror. The creature pulled its head around, and the gigantic antlers were right in front of him. Yanking his head back to keep from impaling himself in the eyes, he toppled over, sliding and rolling helplessly on the slick grass towards the beast, until he smashed into its front legs. Tree trunks were less solid. He found himself face down, and he flipped over just in time to see the belly and hind legs of the beast sail overhead before smashing back to earth. He scrambled to his feet, keeping one eye on the creature as it bounded a few steps away, before turning and staring at him. Bellowing out a deep-throated challenge, it pawed at the ground and then rushed towards him, horns lowered.

Spear.. Where’s my spear?

Too late for that now. At the last possible moment he flung himself sideways, the right horn of the monster grazing his skin as it passed. He rolled to his feet again, stumbling as stabbing pains shot through his right ankle.The great beast bellowed at him again, lowering its head for another charge.

A rock sailed through the air, striking his attacker on the side and bouncing harmlessly into the grass. The animal turned and bellowed at the new challenge as another stone smashed against its face, leaving a trickle of blood along the top of the muzzle. The beast snorted again and galloped away. Lam watched it shrink away, relief shuddering through his body.

“Are you okay?”

He turned. Mika. She was walking towards him, letting stones drop from her hands. Carefully, he lowered his right foot. “My ankle may be brok- no, wait, it’s fine.” The pain was already subsiding. “Yeah. I guess I’m okay.”

She bent over. “Here’s your spear – Oh!” As she picked it up, the sharp flint unravelled and fell back to the earth. “Sorry.” She said, leaning over to pick it up.

“Careful, it’s sharp.” He said. She handled it gingerly, placing it in his hand. Lam frowned – the blade was chipped in several places, and a large crack had formed along the base. How will I hunt without a blade?

His face grew hot, and he fought back tears. Swallowing his distress, he shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to get another one.” She nodded silently, staring at him expectantly.

“Uh… thanks for helping me back there.”

She smiled and handed him the remains of the spear. “I was glad to help.”

Lam studied the valley, searching for the others, but saw no one. “How did you get out here?”

“I followed you.” She turned and pointed back towards camp. “I saw you leave, and I didn’t have anything better to do, so I decided to see where you were going.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t even hear you behind me.”

“Well, I was trying to be quiet, like you.”

He turned, and looked across the plains. The monster was already a small black dot, flowing across the grasslands towards the reddening sun. “I guess that’s all for today. Let’s head back.”

Mika nodded, and fished in her pack. “Here” she said, handing him a pile of blackberries. “If you’re hungry.”

His stomach heaved unpleasantly at the prospect of more of the sharp berries. They had eaten little else for the last two days. But he took them all the same, and gobbled them up quickly as they walked back to camp, swallowing them quickly.

“Why did you yell before attacking?” Mika asked.

He shrugged. “I remember my father telling me to do that.”

“It didn’t seem to work for you.”

Lam nodded. “Yeah- maybe I’ll be silent next time and see what happens.”

She nodded. “I’ll come with you – maybe we can work better together.” She paused, and stuttered. “I mean, that is – if it’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, okay.”

—

“Lam, wake up”. Armis.

He nodded blearily, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Shaking his head violently, he let out a huge yawn and scrambled out of his bedroll into the starlit darkness. Where’s the fire? He wondered for a moment, before remembering that this part of the plain was devoid of trees, just endless grass, low hills and the Silver River. Pulling his clothes tight around his body, he rubbed his skin to bring warmth back to his hands.

“Kito is sharing the watch with you.” Armis said.

Lam stiffened and frowned. “I don’t want to watch with him. Find someone else.” His voice was a bit too loud for the still night air.

Armis grabbed his shoulder forcefully, and spun him around. “No one is right all the time, Lam. Let it go.”

No. Not now, not ever.

“Fine.” He forced the words through his mouth.

Armis nodded, and weaved his way through the group to his own bed.

Kito was already up, perched on a rock, white and gray in the moonlight. Deliberately, Lam chose a seat most of the way around the circle of the campsite. I may have to share a watch with him, but at least I don’t have to talk to him.

Without a fire, the stars were spectacularly bright, especially with the moon just now beginning to peek over the horizon. Every now and again a star would streak through the sky, but nowhere close to the frequency of- of that night. He shook his head, to clear away the thoughts of the dead.

Trying to think of something else – anything else – he turned his mind to the hunt. Was Mika right – should he have stayed silent when attacking? That would mean that his father was wrong. Or maybe I just misunderstood.

A breeze picked up briefly, sending needles of cold hard against his skin. He shivered, and tried to pull his clothes even tighter around his body.

It would have been pretty stupid to take down that beast with no fire to cook it.

Well, yes, that was true – but the skin, and the antlers-

Would have been nice, but the meat would have been wasted.

Lam frowned, wondering what he should have done.

“Did you see that?” Kito whispered.

Lam lifted his head up sharply, already annoyed at Kito’s voice. What is he blathering about?

“See what?” Lam said.

“The golden flash around the moon.”

Lam turned and looked at the orange-white orb, just peeking above the grasses, He walked around the sleepers to get a better look, but it just looked like every other night – the same splotches, the slightest hint of a missing crescent along the right side. “What golden flash?”

“I saw it.” Kito insisted.

“You’re dreaming.” Lam said. “Leave me alone.” He turned away in disgust, circling back towards his rock. “And stay awake.” He sat back on his rock, thinking about the beast and the hunt, habout how he could hae done it differently. I bet they would have made me chief. He thought, bemused.

“Lam.” Kito nearly shouted.

“What?” Lam said, exasperated.

Kito stumbled across the campsite, eliciting several yelps from the sleepers. “Look at the edge.”

Sighing, Lam turned his gaze once more. It looked perfectly normal – except.

Except there was a tiny piece missing.

He swallowed hard and stared, trying to understand. There was a strange shimmer, some sort of shadow dancing around the bite.

Bite?

He shook his head, and looked at the moon again, sure that he was mistaken. But no, it was still there when he looked again – a tiny crescent-shaped notch in the edge of the moon. As he stared, he saw a tiny flickering shape rushing towards the moon, mouth agape.

Mouth?

Just for a moment, the shape solidified, and he could see that it was vaguely lizard-like, with a long toothy mouth in front, stumpy legs along the flat torso, and a thick tail to the rear. And then it pulled away again, disappearing into the sky. And another bite was missing from the moon, a second notch just next to the first.
“Did you see that?” Kito’s voice was thick with fear. “Did you see it?”

“Yeah.” Lam said, chills running through his neck. “I saw it.”

“What are we going to do?” Kito asked.

“Be still. And shut up.” Lam said. He watched, stomach churning as more flickering creatures rushed at the moon, each leaving the moon just a little bit smaller.

“How many do you think there are?” Kito wondered.

Lam snorted. “That’s a stupid question.” Kito fell silent, and Lam felt a surge of satisfaction at the boy’s discomfort. Serves you right.

Lam turned, and looked at the sleepers. Weaving his way through the others, he found Armis, and leaned close. “Wake up.” He murmured, shaking the man. Armis yawned and stared at him. “What’s up?”

“Something is eating the moon.”

Armis yawned again. “Say again? It sounded like you said that something is eating-”

“The moon.” Lam finished for him. “Take a look for yourself.”

Armis’s eyes flew open as Lam described what he had seen. Armis stood up and walked over to the edge, staring at the moon for a long time. “Wake the others.” He said, quietly. In a short time, everyone was up, huddled together, staring at the moon in silence through the rest of the night as bit by bit it wasted away.

As the Sun rose, and the moon slipped below the horizon a large chunk was gone, the ragged edges slowly fading as the sky lightened around it. As it vanished beneath the horizon, the spell was broken, and everyone started talking at once. “What does it mean?” “Is the moon going to be gone forever?” “How did this happen?” “Why is it happening now?” “Will it come back?”

“Enough” Armis said, at last. “We can’t do anything about the moon. But we do need to keep going. We’re all tired. But north,” he swept his hand, “I can see many trees. If we leave now, we can reach it before night and have a warm fire again.”

Wearily, Lam nodded with the others. “I’ll- I’ll scout ahead.” He said.

“Where’s your spear?” Barak asked.

Lam’s heart sunk into his chest. “It’s broken.”

“What? How did you break your spear?” Armis asked. “You need to be more careful.”

“Here.” Barak said, and tossed a shaft of wood through the air. Lam caught it, and grimaced. “There’s no flint. This is just a pointy stick.” He groused.

“It’s better than nothing, isn’t it?” Barak laughed.

“Get going.” Armis said, chuckling.

Lam nodded, and “spear” in hand, he started north, angling to pass between two grassy hills. He started off quickly, scanning the horizon for animals or people or- other things. As he walked, he considered the hills. Maybe I should-

“May I join you?” Mika asked, appearing at his side.

Lam almost dropped his spear. “Ah.” He said. “Stop sneaking up on me.”

She stared at him, raising her eyebrows.

He shook his head. “Yes, you can join me.”

She smiled, and they headed off together towards the distant green haze.

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Thursday, April 13th, 2006 at 10:26 pm.
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