The Way Home Chapter One Strange Star

CHAPTER ONE ~ STRANGE STAR

The small hunting party had stopped to make camp for the night. In silence six men swiftly completed the task with expert precision, while two walked guard with their backs to the camp-site. Anything of real value the men kept on their person, or at least close enough to snatch and run with, in case they had to retreat quickly. As soon as they were finished the six men went into the tent to sleep while they could. Darkness was falling rapidly, and with the darkness would come the night things. The ugly ones. Soon only the brilliant twinkling of countless thousands of stars would separate the darkness of night sky from the blackness of the Earth.

A large tent sat twenty, or so, feet away from a huge pile of dried twigs and limbs that would quickly become a roaring bonfire, if The Ugly Ones found them in the night. Only one thing would deter the beasts form attacking, fire.

Quen was one of the two men taking first watch. He was the one the Clan referred to as First Hunter. A larger man walked a circle in the opposite direction from Quen. His name was Ben.

Quen searched the stars. He knew them well. His duties as First Hunter of the clan partly depended upon his abilities to read the stars, the signs. Quen was a big man by Clan standards, lean and raw-boned. He was not overly muscular but still he possessed a natural strength which all the Clan men respected and the women desired. Quen had sired many children by Clan women who wished to bring his strength into their bloodline. It didn’t hurt any that Quen was a striking figure of a man with dark brown eyes that could literally be seen as far away as he himself was recognizable. Shoulder length, wavy brown hair, and a youthful hairless face gave the impression of one much younger than his actual thirty-seven years.

Quen puzzled over the new star that had entered their night sky only two weeks earlier. He made a small noise in the back of his throat which could only be recognized by one of his top students as a come-to-me signal and was shortly joined by Ben.

Ben was the largest and most powerful man of the Clan. Standing half a head taller than Quen, Ben was a huge man of dark countenance. His pitch black hair and beard both ran nearly to his waist. The only thing visible on Bens face were his cheeks and his menacingly glaring green eyes. It was a glare that sent chills up the spine of men, mumal and muman alike. Dark colored skins only served to make his appearance even more ominous, and he liked it that way.

Ben was known as First Warrior of the Clan and a loner. Quen was the only man Ben called friend. As boys Ben and Quen had been pitted against one another many times by the older clan men during the games. While Ben was large and strong, Quen was fast strong and wiry. Ben himself had initiated a lot of the challenges, but he soon learned a deep respect for the smaller boy who, despite obvious disadvantages, was a serious competitor, and a very real force to be reckoned with. Quen never started trouble but once it started he was there to the end. Over the years the two had exchanged many trade secrets as a matter of making each better at his post. This was true of all the thirteen members making up the covering council of the Clan.

Quen studied Ben as the big man closed the distance between them. Ben was the closest thing to a brother Quen would ever have. The name Ben suited him well, for the name, like all those of the council was more than simply a name .It was also a title to be honored and coveted.

Centuries ago, as the first clan was slowly making the transition from the catacombs to the strange outside world, a man named Ben had found himself surrounded by a terrible group of Mumal {mutated animal} . According to legend, the man had stabbed, flailed and beaten his way to victory armed only with a club and broken spear, leaving death and destruction in his wake as a sign to all who would stand in the Clans way in the future. Thus he was named First Warrior. Inside the catacombs there had been no need for a warrior. In the treacherous new world above, the first Ben had unwittingly carved for himself a valued and honored position among his people. Since that time all of the more prominent warrior students had worked fervently to attain that highly sought after position and take the name of Ben on the day of their naming. This Ben who stood guard with Quen was truly Ben.

It was told by the story tellers of old that when the first Clan had made there way back out into the open, from the catacombs, that there were thousands of them. Safety in numbers dictated that they stay together, but they knew that such a large group could not be supported by the local food sources so it was decided that they would break up into groups of two to three hundred and go in different directions.

As Ben approached, Quen stood with one foot resting on a boulder and leaning on his spear while staring into the night sky. The two stood side by side for a moment then Quen said " the new star is restless again tonight my friend.”
“Restless in what manner?" said Ben.
“It moves. It seems it has not yet found its proper place to settle," replied Quen.
"I worry for your eyesight Hunter. Perhaps you should visit the medical when we return to the fortress tomorrow, Ben chuckled." I have noted no movement.”
“The star is far from us Ben.” Quen said slightly agitated. Quen wasn't easily ticked off but Ben had always known just how to get to him.” You will not notice its movement as you would a skittering squirrel.” Quen teased back.
“I goad you not with the question of your eyes strong brother." Ben said while placing a big hand on the shoulder of his friend.” I trust your eyes with all but the breasts of my Benia.”

Benia was the thirteen year old daughter of the Warrior and strikingly beautiful, and would soon be of age to take a mate. In truth, although the remark was designed to be humorous, Clan men would kill no faster than for the sake of their children.

All of the Clan women were given free choice in deciding who would father their children. Ultimately each woman upon reaching the age of consent decided when she would give herself to whom. To date, no women or girl had ever been taken without express consent from, not just her, but also her guardian. It was a crime punishable by death. No questions asked.

Although there was no actual marriage ceremony, some of the Clan women simply fell in love and took a mate for life, keeping herself only unto him, while others desired to have children by those of rank and power. It was not uncommon for a girl to first give herself to an older man if he held a council position, there-by claiming a slightly elevated status among the other clan women. It was a honor few men turned away from and was even considered something of a duty.

"But still” Ben said. “I have not seen the star move. How can a star just move of its own will?”

Quen shook his head with wrinkled brow and said “It is a thing not known to me. But it troubles me Ben. I take it as an omen......a sign of some great significance.”

“Ahha” said Ben. “Now you are First Hunter and Clan seer."

“It does not take a Seer to know that the Muman and Mumal attacks have become more frequent since the night I first took notice of the new star.” Quen fumed.

Ben really didn't mean to push Quen so but sometimes he just couldn’t help himself. It was great fun unless he went too far. Starting trouble with Quen, for a lesser man, could be dangerous. How the challenge began was your decision. How and when it ended was Quen’s.

“Be still brave one” Ben said soothing his friend. "I go too far with my teasing. But I mean you no harm."

“I am accustomed to your ... nature warrior. It is not your attempted humor that troubles me now but that star and the promise of destruction that it brings.”

“Destruction for whom, Hunter?”

“For us Ben, the Clan.”

“And how will we be destroyed Quen? By a star in the sky? Honestly I think you fret for no cause.

“I do not know how. But always we war and kill and are killed, and the stories of the old ones told of this world being destroyed because of mans violence and his desire for war. They also told of that destruction coming from the sky.”

"Of course we make war my brother. What of your wife and children?" Would you have them suffer at the teeth and loins of the Ugly ones?"

"You know that answer Ben.”

"Right because you are a strong man and a survivor as am I. And if we are to survive we must kill."

“You know all too well of my battle status. But I do not posses your warrior spirit, except for food Ben I have never enjoyed killing."

The two men were silent for a few moments. As one looked at the strange new star the other listened to the sounds of the night. Then Ben spoke again.

“I seldom agree with you hunter, but I too remember the stories of the old tellers. And I know what troubles you.”

They looked at each other in the diffused light. Each knew what the other was thinking. The old Storytellers had told many stories, but one story in particular had caused clan folk to look up from time to time through the generations. In that story, not only had the destruction of the world come from the sky, but if men were not careful, it would again.

As the Hunter and Warrior were about to resume their rounds they were stopped cold in their tracks. The star had begun to glow even more brightly than before, and larger. They looked on in awe. Suddenly the star was ten times brighter and a hundred times closer. At that point all doubt was removed. The new star was coming down to the Earth, and fast. . One thought passed between two distinctly different minds. "Is this the end of the world .....? Again?"

As Quen rushed to awaken the slumbering clansmen in the tent, Ben continued to stare unblinkingly at the ever more rapidly falling star. The hunting party quickly gathered the meat packs and as many personal belongings as could be gathered hastily. Just as quickly they were scurrying away from the terrible sight. Through brush and tree line, over boulders and crevices they made for the safety of the now too far away fortress. As Ben (still awe stricken) started after the others he, the bravest and strongest man of all the clan, felt the wet warmth spreading from his loins to his legs. For the very first time in his life, Ben knew the true feeling of real fear.