“Let’s be quiet now,” Kenz’ox rumbles softly. “We’ll rest until the sun starts to rise.”
I adjust my position. My whole body moves with the caveman’s slow breaths, and it’s remarkably calming. I can look for Callie tomorrow. Maybe she’s already back at the saucer.
Kenz’ox gently shakes me awake. “Todora. The sun tells us it’s time to move on.”
I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. That was a deep sleep, and it takes me a second to get back to the present. Then I notice that Kenz’ox can’t move with me sitting like this.
“Oh. Sorry.” I quickly get to my feet, then notice a soft mewling from the frontpack/BabyBjorn. Ah, the baby is awake.
“Like a good warrior, Aker’iz likes to get ready early in the morning,” Kenz’ox says, staying seated as he lifts the baby out ofthe pack. “It will only take a little while. I would suggest you stay upwind, but there’s no draft in the air.”
The baby is bigger than I thought, which makes sense for a caveman infant. There are no stripes, but even though the baby is chubby, I can see that the bone structure of the face is more angular than on any human baby. He’s wearing a big diaper-like thing made from layers of leather, and to my non-expert eyes, he looks perfectly healthy, kicking his legs and waving his arms, clenching his fingers and moving his head. He has nothing wrong with him that I can see. “Big baby.”
“And surprisingly heavy,” Kenz’ox says as he starts to unwind the diaper. “This is the part where you should stay upwind or keep your distance.”
His movements are quick and sure, and it’s obvious that he’s done this many times. He has everything ready, including a big piece of suede-like leather for absorption.
To my astonishment, the baby is indeed a girl.
“Many girls in your tribe?” I ask.
“None,” Kenz’ox says while he finishes the change. “This is the first girl anyone had ever seen. They didn’t like that she wasdifferent.”
There’s a barely hidden fury in his words. I decide not to pursue that topic for now. There are many possibilities here. One is that the tribesmen lied to Cora, hiding that the Lifegivers sometimes bear girls and that they simply get rid of them.
Kenz’ox takes a pot out of the pack, opens it, and soaks a piece of fabric in it. It comes out dripping with what I think is juice, and he puts one corner in the baby’s mouth.
“She will usually make some loud noises if she doesn’t get her breakfast,” he growls affectionately. “We got it in time.”
I look around. I have no idea where this is. “Where is my ship?”
“We’ll show you.” They finish up, and Kenz’ox puts the baby girl back into the pack. She mewls contentedly as he puts it on his chest. We start walking, Kenz’ox in front while I bravely bring up the rear, clutching my spear and intensely hoping that Callie is back.
When we get to the saucer, a sharp barb pierces my mind: there’s no sign of her. I go inside the ship, but nobody’s been there. Her meager possessions are still where she left them.
Kenz’ox gives me a searching look when I go back out. “I will check the tracks. If your friend was taken, perhaps we can find out how. You watch this girl.”
He sets the frontpack down, carefully leaning it against one of the logs around the campfire.
I squat down next to it, unsure what to do. I’ve been around the occasional baby in my life, but not on an alien planet. I don’t want to scare her, but I am kind of curious about her and I have a strange urge to coo at her.
The girl looks at me with bright blue eyes. “Glerg.”
“Yes,” I reply. “He’s just checking something for me. He’ll be right back.”
“Bulil umbgerrr,” she goes on, and I use a loose piece of leather to wipe some drool from her mouth.
“That’s a matter of opinion,” I say in the brightest voice I can muster right now, pretending that she’s saying somethingintelligible. “Some like it, some don’t. Though I must sayIprefer a non-dinosaur planet.”
We go on like that for a while until Kenz’ox returns. “The tracks are too many and too messy. I can see the tracks of five women like you all around here, and one tribesman with strange feet. No Big has been close to this spot for a long time.”
I nod slowly. “Callie could be alive.”
Kenz’ox squats down to check on Aker’iz. “The chances are tiny. Better to let go of that thought and accept that your friend is dead.”
I don’t like that idea, so I get back on my feet. “Where will you and Aker’iz be going?”
“I was taking her to safety. I didn’t know where that was when I started. But the Ancestors have given me a safe place for her.”
