Who Are Gods When We Are All Men
Synopsis: The Family comes to make a new home with a new life. The predators surround their mountain home. This is my response to my sister about mythology and aliens. Wait for it... this is going to get good.
AN: Like I said, it's a response to my sister about mythology and aliens. Don't understand? Good. You will… well not by the end of the chapter but at least by the end of the story… hopefully sooner. For updates on my other works… yeah, they're happening slowly. CoM is as always like pulling teeth from a baby and my AoH sequel/prequel is threatening to turn into a bigger story than what I have planned for CoM so I'm seeing what I can do with that. Right now it's three thirty in the morning and I have a final in ten and a half hours I haven't studied for yet so I'll have to leave to enjoy the story! Reviews are always welcome!
CHAPTER THE FIRST
A family of seven come off the ship after months of travel. They are refugees, escaping their home and their government, in search of a new home. Their entire belongings are being carried by the men in the family, the Father and Uncle are carrying the heavier loads while the Son carries the lighter packs. The Mother helps Grandmother, who was almost too old to make the journey, surviving while her husband did not, and the Daughter carries the Baby, her own daughter, born of a man who now hunts them. They turn to where they can see the brightest star sink below the horizon and climb.
The Family lives on the top of a mountain. It was flat when they had reached the top and they took poles and a canvas Grandmother wove during the journey that blended their shelter into the rocks. The women have worked to turn this house into a home, while the men return from hunting with stories about a common species that seems to live everywhere beyond the mountain.
"Predators," Uncle whispers and the Mother and Daughter exchange looks. "They hunt in packs to find and kill other animals with a ferocity that would kill you back home."
While the Mother wants to stop all the talk of dangerous things that surround them, the Baby squeals, wanting to hear more, so the Son continues.
"They are led by purebreds," Son stares across the fire where it is reflected in Baby's eyes. "These purebreds are territorial and sends out the stags to kill those that oppose them. We are lucky these predators avoid the mountain."
Father nods then announces that with the mean done and the star rising, it is time for sleeping. He hugs Baby as she runs up to him and strokes his wife on the cheek, still guiding his granddaughter to bed.
As Uncle begins to settle down for the watch, Grandmother stops him. "I will keep watch."
Uncle stares down his nose at her before nodding, leaving her to tend the fire. She waits then plucks a branch from her hair before putting into the fire pit. Keep us safe, Grandmother whispers as smoke begins to fill the canvas home.
The Family got into a routine as the men went out while the women kept house. But tensions were running thin and it was only a matter of time before something happened. It was when the men returned, staggered as they didn't all go out at the same time, that the Son, the last one to arrive, realized Baby was missing.
His Sister was beside herself with worry, only a Daughter herself and already her only child went missing. Father organized the search but Sister was determined not to stay behind. With Grandmother watching their home, the rest set out, not noticing as Grandmother added more branches to the fire.
Baby was enjoying the change of scenery when she came across the predator. It stood up on two legs, staring her down across from the wild animal it had taken down, probably for dinner. It was dark and all indications showed it could hardly see but it still turned its head towards her.
When it began making sounds, Baby realized what a bad idea this was. The predator was going to kill her. Blood already covered its hands from where it had been digging around inside dead animal. And it didn't seem afraid.
It was that moment Sister arrived, leaping over a log and land again on all fours. She stood to her full hight on her legs and stared the predator down. As her silver eyes seemed to wane, she suddenly snarled. "Leave us."
The predator dropped whatever it had been holding and fled.
Before Sister could reach Baby, the younger grabbed what the predator had dropped and they headed back to the house, whistling to let the others know to return.
The result from Baby's trip is that everyone could leave the house if they chose to except during the sleeping hours, when the predators were active. But before they left, Grandmother would give them a smokey brach for them to keep near and a warning to return when it stopped smoking.
Sister took the souvenir from the trip to use to hunt. With a little help, it was a bow she could use and she prided herself on her marksmanship. She never hunted the predators, even when one was awake while the rest of their kind slept. These predators were rogue, she guessed, and sometimes wondered it they turned feral when away from their pack, like most other animals.
She was the second one to run into a predator alone. It was exactly in the middle of when the predators should be sleeping when it stumbled into the clearing where she had rested after running. It took one look at her before beginning the chase. Putting hands to the ground, she took off running.
It was soon clear she could out run it but she continued to pause, give it time to catch up before sprinting off again. Finally she tired of the game and rose up, arms dropping to her sides. The predator froze, looking suitably startled.
As Sister turned to leave, the predator took a step forward, snapping a branch under its foot. She wondered how this careless predator could be at the top of the food chain. But then it started making noises at her and she froze.
"Why to you try to talk to me, you are just an animal, you can't understand," her voice cause it to quiet before repeating sounds. "Are you saying words," Sister asked but predictably had no answer. What could this animal be trying to tell her?
No answer came and she felt angry. What a waste of time. She turned and ignored the cry that followed as she left away, this time without waiting for it to catch up.
'I saw a god today. I was chasing a deer when it turned into a person. Its hair was like moonlight and its eyes were like moons. When I followed the path it showed me, I found a herd of deer to hunt. Before I left the place, I left one of the deer on a fire as an offering.'
TBC