Chapter 7

Sometimes it felt like I had been brainwashed from the cradle to follow my father's footsteps--he wanted me to be an officer. I thought the bastard would have a coronary when I told him I enlisted instead of accepting my reservation to the Academy of his choice.

"I need to know what the men face before I command them, sir." The old man knew it was bullshit. I did plan on joining the officer ranks after I got done bending his nose out of shape, but I acquired a family to feed. The combat deployments also kept me away.

The hell of war (fuck whatever politicians or historians call it, when people shoot at them I'll respect their name for it) gave me certain prejudices. Not trusting anyone who tried to sneak up on me was on the list.

I watched from the shadows of the cave entrance; the lance in my hand ready for the idiot in the bushes. I pondered a throw first and ask questions later engagement policy.

The fool stopped moving when the girls laid out the bear hides and bones to scrape away the last of the flesh. A pot would have made cleaning the bear bones easier. I would have to explain boiling water and clayware. I did not know if I could boil water in clayware, but the stuff would be useful in other ways. Unfortunately, I had no idea how one made clay (special mud maybe?) though I was confident the girls would come up with something.

"How the fuck long does it to take to make a bear blanket anyway?"

The girls' work got progressively easier with each new knife. Every now and then, I caught them staring at the exposed blade. My healing was impressive, but a natural process. The blades were nothing short of miraculous to them. Caryn thought she had been given a gift made by Fire himself. The knives made Naris pay close attention anytime I tried to explain another way of doing things, like clayware.

If the idiot fucking moved, he was dead!

After my full recovery, most of my time was spent wondering how to find Nek and whack the fuck-twat. I had also given the girls more thought. I couldn't have picked better partners to be stuck in the Land of Bush-Hiding Idiots. It was clear; the girls were in the same class of things as the lances and swords, survival tools.

Caryn was a religious fanatic who probably thought I didn't walk on water because I liked the way fish adoringly bumped into me. Realistically, the other girls were not much better. Els worshiped my ability to keep her well fucked and fed. Armed with weapons eighty thousand years ahead of anything they had ever seen (I would have appreciated those last three thousand years which would have given me a fifty caliber to lay waste to bushes), I was pretty much Els's Prince Caveming. Naris--I really had to get my lances in Nek.

"You're going make kill you, aren't you?"

The girls' social mores made some sense. A strong leader or good hunter was too great an asset to lose so their society would be expected to favor them. There was something else on the edges; their utter lack of jealousy and absolute adherence to their sexual structures. Naris's problem had not been with me taking Leader's rights but receiving pleasure from an act Nek taught her to fear and hate. Caryn's show had been for the benefit of the other girls, not that anyone bought it. Like the knife being a tool and not a weapon, the form of the girls' social rules had to be followed.

Naris looked towards the bushes. Els said something to her. Caryn pointed to the spot Naris stared at.

The idiot stood up. The girls turned towards our visitor and knelt. They clapped, put their hands flat on the ground, and bowed their heads almost to their hands.

"That can't be good!"

The visitor wore furs like the cave-morons. These had more shape, nothing approaching Naris's creations, just enough to mark him as someone more important than Nek and his dead cronies. Personally, I thought the feather headdress a little ridiculous.

"Grrreat! A fucking priest!" Not that I had anything against priests, I'd certainly made enough deals with the Higher Power, though he/she/it ignored the multitude of bolt of lighting on my ex-wife's forehead prayers. The arrogant tilt of this guy's head or the way he laid his hand on Naris's shoulder was unmistakable.

The priest liked power.

"Achilles!" Caryn shouted. I wondered what the girls would do if I killed him. The way Naris slid out from under his hand said a lot.

Grabbing another lance in my left hand, I stepped into the light. The priest smiled arrogantly as soon as he saw me. His eyes moved up and down my body, judging me. The same as with the girls, the body of a teenager placed me in a certain place in the man's world.

"This is the... of the Tribes," Caryn told me.

I approached slowly. Naris stood up and walked towards me. When the priest reached out to stop her, I brought the right lance up. He took stock of the area and realized his mistake; the fires, the fresh state of the bear hides and bones, the girls' body language, my coloring (black hair was unheard according to the girls).

"I am Pek,... of the Tribes," the priest said with the tone of someone used to being kowtowed to. The girls froze. The tone had been meant to put me in my place. Els and Caryn stood up and joined Naris who had walked behind me.

"This is Achilles," Els said. "Leader of the Anue."

"The Anue?" The priest expected a reply from me.

"Say the word again," I told Naris.

"(The one who speaks to Father-Sky and Earth-Mother for the Tribes)," she said slowly.

"Shaman."

"Shaman," she repeated with a nod. It would have been nice to know if she was using my word or if I was speaking ones she understood.

I turned back to the Shaman, "I guess I have to welcome you to my cave."

"Achilles!" Caryn gasped.

"How dare you speak like that to me, boy!" the Shaman said between his teeth. "I will call Father-Sky down on you."

"He is the son of Moon and Fire!" Caryn turned on the priest with zealot fire in her eyes. One on my side, but how would the other two fall?

"That cannot be true!" the Shaman said looking from girl to girl.

"Pek is Nek's father," Naris told me, making the priest's face tighten.

Two for Achilles! I turned and looked at Els. Her eyes narrowed. Her lips pressed together hard. She stepped up to me, putting her face an inch from mine.

"I am a woman of the Anue!" Els whispered. "I will drink your seed in front of him to prove it, Achilles."

Drinking my seed was what they called oral sex towards a male; I liked the way it sounded so I tried very hard not to think the word b-l-o-w-j-o-b. My fondness for the cave-speak term probably had a lot to do with the girls drinking my seed in a ritual manner after my morning workouts. Each of the girls had their own style...

I grabbed Els and pulled her up. The hesitation caused by getting lost in thought made her think I did need proof of her loyalty.

I studied Shaman Pek--Pek, Nek, probably a Lek out there somewhere, maybe a couple of Deks and a Cek. So far I'd met four males in my hallucination, and it had been love-to-kill at first sight with all of them. Surprising, since in my non-hallucination life I got along quite well with men; women not so much, but a death-march will take the shine off walking.

"Ladies, we have a guest."

Shaman Pek took the words as a victory. Waving magnanimously towards the cave, he headed inside as if he owned it.

Naris put her hand on mine as I tightened my grip on the lance, "You cannot send him to Earth-Mother, Achilles!"

"Why not?"

"He is Shaman of the Tribes," Naris said. "He is not Leader, but he has..."

"I'm a firm believer in separation of Church and State," I said.

"You cannot send him to Earth-Mother!" she insisted.

"That's where you're wrong, Naris," I replied. "You see; I'm going to kill Nek as soon as I figure out how to find him. Nek's daddy, Pek, probably isn't going to like it. When I'm standing over his son's corpse, Pek will say something stupid like 'I kill you!' At which point, I'm going to have no choice but to whack Priest Dumbass too."

She stared at me without blinking.

"I happen to know something you don't." I winked at her. "Earth-Mother isn't fond of Pek."

I followed the others towards the cave, "My mom and dad were having dinner with Earth-Mother. She kept going on about how the Shaman of The Tribes thinks his shit don't stink! She was like 'Believe me, his shit do stink!'"

"Achilles!" Naris hissed.

"I'm sure Earth-Mother will get over me making Pek dead. She might even send me a nice little thank you note."

I turned when Naris grabbed my arm.

"You will kill Nek for me?" Naris asked, staring into my eyes.

"I wouldn't say it's for you. OUCH! Fuck, girl!" I pried her nails out.

"Do not... , Achilles," Naris whispered.

"I'm not going to kill him for you. I'm going to kill him for me," I said seriously. "You're holding back a part of yourself and fuck if I'm going to share in my own hallucination."

"When you talk fast, I cannot understand, Achilles," Naris said.

I stared at her for a moment, "You're mine, Naris, but Nek has a piece of you."

She turned her head towards the cave for a moment. Naris's profile was exquisite; her facial lines almost sharp.

"I will not give Pek Shaman's rights," she said finally.

"Excuse me?"

"My body is yours," Naris said meeting my eyes. "I will not give Pek Shaman's rights, Achilles, even if you tell me to!"

"Shaman's rights?" I whispered. "Like Leader's rights."

She nodded.

"Abso-fuckin-lutely not!" I grunted. "I'll kill the fucker first."

Naris got in front of me and put her hands on my chest when I turned towards the cave, "The Shaman has not done anything yet, Achilles. He may not demand it from me."

"He doesn't get shit from any of you!" The force of my words forced Naris back. "Nothing!"

Maybe, possibly, I was being a trifle over-possessive. Going toe-to-toe with two bears for a woman does make a man feel like he's owed a few things, like other men keeping their paws to themselves. Fuck it! As an only child, I never learned to share, and I didn't plan to start with the girls (Sharing the girls, not sharing with the girls. I was very fond of sharing my cock with them.)

"Pek is not like you or even Lant," Naris said carefully. "He will not demand his rights while he is unsure of you."

I wanted to kill the priest, but eventually I would have to deal with the girls' tribe and others in the area. Killing Pek was not the best way to introduce myself.

"Tell Els and Caryn to stay near me. And you too!" I said. "Pek is not Shaman of the Anue; he has no rights."

The last part shocked Naris to the core, "We have no Shaman?"

"Not if Pek is my only choice," I said and headed into the cave.

"Where are they?" I asked when I did not see the girls and my never-been-welcome guest.

"They must be showing Pek the... ," Naris said, pointing to an entrance at the back of the cave. I had noticed my cave was actually a system of caves but felt no need to explore. Seen one cave, pretty much seen them all; not like I was going to find a shower and a jacuzzi back there anyway.

Naris led me into the inner cave on the right. The cave hallway was wide enough for people to carry things through, but I did not get what the girls would want to show the priest back there. I heard voices so I put my hand on Naris's lower back to hurry her along.

"We won't all fit in the... , Achilles," Naris said.

I crossed a line and the temperature dropped hard.

"What the?!?" I said, coming to a halt.

"They're coming out," Naris told me before pressing against the wall. I joined her.

There wasn't enough light to see much. Els and Caryn both put their hands on my groin as they walked by. Pek gave me a look filled with bad intentions, but he did not say anything. Naris followed the priest after giving me a quick kiss.

I wanted to go after them; the pull of the drop in temperature was too strong. I took a step towards the main cave and crossed out of the coldness.

"That's not possible," I whispered.

I reached out to my left. My hand was in freezer cold air while my forearm stayed in the same temperature as the rest of me.

"A freezer cave!" I said standing in the middle of the room. It had taken a few minutes to investigate the perfect line of temperature change. Even if I had not been Mr. Science in high school, I would have remembered a law of nature which allowed for freezer caves.

"That settles it! I can't be in hell, 'cause there's no fucking refrigeration in hell!"

The cave hallway did not go downwards so I could not be deep enough for a temperature change. Maybe I could have explained the room given time but not the linear clean-cut separation between cold and normal.