Unts Kill

From his higher position on Shame Rock Unt could a thin hairy line rising above the grasslands horizon. It was Dak, the tribes scout who had left at first light. The tribe hadn't expected him back until much later. In his excitement he forgot his place and jumped down to tell Bahka. In an instant the huge alpha was on him, screaming and waving his arms menacingly. The other two men in the pack shot up startled.

Unt, terrified, bowed his head and squatted against the big rock behind him. Bahka towered over him, giving him a chance to take back his shameful gesture. With gratitude he swung himself back up, keeping his head bowed toward his alpha.

He was frustrated, having spent the past three days up here, but knew better than to show it. Instead he just lifted his finger toward Dak.

The rest of the pack, except for Bahka who was still seeing red, followed his finger. The alpha didnt break his stare until a young female began yipping in excitement. It was always a good sign when Dak came back early.

When he reached the rest of the pack he went straight to Bahka.

"Horned beasts, just past horizon", Dak said catching his breath. Everyone's hungery faces lit up, except for the alpha who kept a thoughtful expression.

He knew these beasts. He had seen them when he was younger. There agile movements were hard to forget. They almost seemed to float over the ground. He thought about it for another moment then turned to the pack.

"We hunt."

The other two men grabbed there spears and rallied around their alpha with Dak. Unt watched Bahka carefully with questioning eyes. When their eyes met the alphas narrowed and he bared his teeth.

Unts heart raced and his cheeks flushed. He went to jump down in protest but the alpha roared so loud it froze every muscle in his body. The rest of the pack jumped.

Bahka broke the awkward tension with a grunt and turned toward Dak who was eyeing Unt sympathetically.

"Lead."

Dak apologized with his eyes and turned toward the point on the horizon he had come from. He jogged out, Bakha followed, then the other two men.

Once the men were far enough away Unt let out a muffled yell into the fur of his arm. None of the women or children took notice. Unt turned away from the tribe and plopped down. He could see his own spear a few meters into the grass where Bahka had thrown it when he banished him to the rock. He could feel it in his hands as he thought about the last hunt.

It had been the first time since the end of the dry season that prey was around to hunt. Bahka finally gave him a chance to throw the first spear. Unt had practiced with Dak the whole dry season, but was too confident and over shot his target. Then he had lost his temper and charged at the prey, scaring it off befor the other men could attack. Bahka beat and then banished him to the rock.

He knew if he just had one more chance he could bring down a beast big enough for the whole pack. He looked back at the horizon. The hunting party was almost out of sight. His stomach boiled and he decided to hell with this rock.

He crept down the rock on the opposite side of the pack and snuck over to grab his spear. He smiled at the feeling of the dry wood and smooth stone tip. He peeked around to see if anyone had noticed but everyone was preoccupied with mid-day grooming. He quietly took off in the direction of the hunting party. Running faster the farther he got from the pack.

- - -

After a while of running he came to one of the trees that marked the start of their hunting grounds. He scanned the horizon but saw no trace of the other hunters. He stooped down to catch his breathe and think. Dak hadn't said where he had seen the horned beasts but from the stories Bahka told they were usually out in the open.

He decided to climb the tree to get a better view. Once he got as high as he dared he sat on a thick branch and scanned the horizon again.

He could just barely see the jungle tree line touching the sky. Between it and himself was a huge open area with random groups of trees dispersed throughout the tall grass. But he still saw no signs of the hunters.

As he descended the tree he thought about just going back, but surely the rest of the tribe had noticed he was gone by now. If he showed up alone and empty handed he would be banished completely. Instead he stalked over to the nearest group of trees to look out again.

He scaled the biggest tree in the group until the branches where bowing under his weight. He looked out again, this time crawling over every blade of grass with his eyes.

His heart sank, he still saw no signs of them. He began to wonder if he should give up. If so he might as well walk straight into the jungle and save himself the beating.

Just as his feet touched the grass beneath the tree he heard a shout. He stood dead still trying to tell where it came from. After just a couple of seconds he could hear the hunting party shouting behind a big group of trees to his left.

Befor he was even concious of it his legs snapped into a full sprint toward the shouting. He was moving faster than he ever had and reached the edge of the trees in seconds. He slowed down as he came around and saw the men in a big circle waving their spears in the air. In the middle of the circle he saw a horned beast panicked and looking for an escape.

It was much bigger than he expected it to be. Its horns were devilish spirals and its movements reminded him of a bird in flight.

He went to rush in but froze as Dak let out a scream and rushed the beast. It spun around and swiftly rammed its head into his chest, just barley missing his chest with its horns. Dak collapsed and went limp. Just before it could gore him two other men charged in from both sides. It spun around again impaling the closest hunter and knocking the other in the head with a powerful back hoof.

Unts heart was pounding out of his chest as he watched both hunters drop simultaneously. The beast took a split second to dislodge the dead hunter from its horn. In this second Unt noticed that Bahka seemed frozen, like he was staring at something beyond the beast. This realization shook him out of his own stupified horror. He knew the beast was going to turn on his alpha but he was too far away to charge.

As the beasts gaze shot at Bahka Unt instinctively brought his spear up. He focused on the beasts neck. Took a step forward. Then flung the spear with his hole body just as Dak had taught him. It sunk deep into its neck just as it began to charge. It flailed off to the left, jumping and kicking furiously.

Bakha still hadn't moved so Unt sprinted over and picked up a dropped spear. The beasts thrashing was growing weaker. Unt ran around to its front and plunged the spear into its skull. The beast dropped with a thunderous thud and rolled to its side. Unt started at it while death gripping the spear.

- - -

After the shock wore off Bahka ran to Dak who had only been knocked unconscious. Unt went to see if the hunter who was kicked was still breathing. He layed his head on his chest and heard nothing.

After the men flayed the beast into big slabs they hoisted as much as each could carry onto their backs. Bahka didnt looked at or speak to Unt the whole time. On there way back Bahka helped Dak walk. Unt stayed back some, unsure of how Bahka felt about his transgression.

When they got back the pack mourned their dead, all gathered into a group and crying. To Unts surprise Bahka wrapped a huge arm around him and pulled him in tight and whispered, "You save my life, thank you".

After the mourning they began preparing a celebratory feast. The women cooked the biggest slabs of meat and the three remaining men dragged big logs over and placed them in a half circle around the fire.

After the food was ready the tribe sat for the feast. Unt sat at a far edge of an outer log. Still unsure of his place. The fire felt nice against the evenings chilly wind. As everyone else took there seats he felt a big hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his alpha looking down at him, the corner of his mouth slightly raised and a confused look on the rest of his face.

Unt immediately thought he overstepped his boundary and stood to move toward Shame Rock.

Bahka gently squeezed his shoulder, "No, you sit in middle, next to me."

Unt stood there for a second not sure how to react but as Bahka pulled him closer and started moving him to the center log he smiled bigger than he had in a while. It almost seemed like he floated to his seat.

Bahka took the biggest piece of meat from the fire and split it in half. He ceremoniously took the first bite and handed the other half to Unt. It was the best tasting bite of meat he had ever had.

After everyone had eaten they began to dance around the fire, telling the tale of brave Unt.