Shooting Star
—There is no place in sky or on earth for our love— Elroy said, watching the sadness take the form of tears in Bam's dark eyes.
Chapter 1
They gazed at each other through the thick glass that separated them; it kept them alive and at the same time, in another sense, slowly killed them.
Bamm Knew little or nothing of the world, but now he wanted to understand everything. On the day of his thirteenth winter, while looking for the dinner in the woods, he observed a T-Rex die after accidentally swallowing a flower in an attempt to devour the domestic flintstones dinosaur. The event prompted Bamm to examine the flowers and that almost cost his life. He spent a week in bed burning and sweating, painful blisters covered his extremities, but it only lit the flame of his newfound curiosity.
His behavior was questioned during the first hunting in which the children could accompany the parents. Bamm watched the badger he was supposed to kill, he followed it until the hot circle had almost disappeared behind the mountains, that day they laughed at him, but he did not care, he had discovered that badgers kept food in their burrows. It was the last winter that Bamm's family went hungry, not only got badger meat, but also a whole ration of sweet fruits and other edible herbs.
When he was fifteen winters he was taken on the first hunting expedition away from the city. The group where he was going was cornered against the mountains by a herd of velociraptor, fearlessly rushed at them and strangled them all. It came out without scratches. That day he discovered that in addition to the bestial strength his skin had become hard and rough like the stones that saw him grow.
Hes developing a unique fascination for the night sky when he see a great glow turning night into day for a few seconds. Amazing things were happening in the sky while everyone was sleeping and he wasn't about to miss any more.
At sixteen winters he decided to observe the stars from a higher place than the ceiling of his cave, by then he was already as tall and wide as the men who patrolled at night carrying torches, many of them expert hunters of forty winters. They were tasked with maintaining security and that included dragging young men who sneaked out trying to prove their manhood back to their cave. Old Rock, chief of the guards, made an exception for Bamm by allowing him to go free in the hopes of winning the boy's favor and hes joining to the patrol. Even if no one had ordered it, the guards would have let him go at ease, they would rather spend a night in the forest than face Bamm.
The hills near Piedradura became his favorite place to watch. Nobody went there at night, the predators were more active when the cold circle was in the sky, something very well known to some more than others, only the most stupid would venture far from the safety of city never to return or, if they were lucky they would return without a limb, maybe two. Bamm wasn't stupid, at least not as stupid as the twenty-winters youngs like him.
That night he was lying on the grass in his usual place. Bamm's small eyes, dark and bright like polished coal, reflected the night sky; sparkling dots, swirling dust of many colors, and the occasional white lines that crossed at the speed of the blink of an eye - those became his favorites. You had to be fast and be very attentive to see them. He often wondered if those things were some beast that roamed the sky at night. Bamm wanted to tame some if that was the case.
—Have you seen any white line?— Said a girl approaching, all smiles.
Bamm shook his head. He didn't bother to look, he knew her pretty well. He had grown up with the only daughter of the Flintstones; the neighboring family and best friends of his parents.
—How did you outwit the guards?— Asked Bamm.
Pebbles sat next to him, raising his feet up to his chin and gazing up at the sky. She didn't share Bam's interest for the sky, but as his fiancée and with a wedding close by, she had to get used to it.
Pebbles looked down and saw the orange dots of torches moving around of the city.
—It's easy when the boss tries to make merit with the strongest young man in town— he replied and then stopped smiling —Do you know why I'm here, Bamm?—
He knew it. Chief Rock knew it. The city knew it. The most important news in recent months had been the announcement of their marriage. The city was not a place of emotions, each day was limited to surviving and seeing another day as in each city and, like the inhabitants of any city, they were in charge of making the smallest events more interesting. Their wedding was the biggest gossip in several winters and te people didn't pass up the opportunity to make it even bigger.
Bamm sighed remembering other men's offers of marriage to marry his daughters. He was offered women with ravishing attributes, lands, money and more, but Bamm refused it all. His strength was coveted, not every day a young man appeared capable of splitting a stone the size of a mammoth in two. If his sons inherited half of what Bam had they would become city leaders in no time. It was very clear the intentions that accompanied the gifts.
—The wedding—He sighed. Bamm was tired of the subject.
—You're not the only one tired—Pebbles said rubbing the bridge of his nose —You must choose the date—
—When the next cold circle is complete again— Bamm said.
Pebbles nodded, kissed Bamm's forehead and walked away down the hill without saying more, she knew how important it was for him to watch the sky.
He settled his arms behind his head, ready to continue enjoying the night. Well past the hours he decided to leave the hill and return home. He looked up for the last time and saw a white line sliding, he was glad, the night was not in vain, but there was something strange, it did not disappear like the others, the more he observed it, the bigger it became. It was falling in their direction. The white line, now turned into a mass of light, flew over the hill and the forest, leaving a long trail that took minutes to disappear. Bamm followed her with his eyes and ran, guided by the faint trail of light. He pushed the thick trees out of the path, snapping them like dry twigs. He did not notice the big smile that was drawn on his face, his heart was pounding with excitement. The last time he had felt that emotion was when he watched as the imposing T-Rex died for a small flower.
The roar of the impact was accompanied by a jolt. Pterodactyls flew in flocks, and the growl of dinosaurs and small animals filled the air.
Bamm sped up. At last he would discover the shape, the smell, and the texture of the white lines.
The animals passed by their flanks in the opposite direction. He saw aces of yellow light piercing the darkness. When his eyes adjusted to the light he found something totally different from what he had imagined for years. Not even his strangest fantasies prepared him for what he saw: a giant disk, it didn't look like any kind of stone he knew. Fire glowed on the polished surface of the strange object, polished like marble.
He took a few steps and stopped at the sound of something crunching under his bare feet. It was reflected in the piece of material very similar to ice. He took it, but it wasn't cold and it didn't seem to melt between his fingers.
Cautiously he advanced to the other side of the strange object, there was something between the flames and the twisted remains of the unknown material. A tortoise shell? Or so Bamm thought at first, it glowed and he could see through it. Under her heart she saw a boy dressed in the strangest furs she had ever seen. He was a small boy with tangled blond hair. Was he riding in that thing? Did all the white lines have people inside? Bamm didn't know how to process what he saw. He saw into the "thing" the boy had come on, the way he had crawled out. Inside were more objects with shapes and colors that I did not understand.
He tried to lift the shell that protected the boy, he immediately felt something very similar to holding a pair of eels. He fell on his back, not from the shock, he barely felt it through his thick skin, it was more the surprise that made him recoil.
He had acted stupid.
The blond haired boy shuddered, very slowly touched the ground around him. Bamm watched silently, fascinated.
—Damage report—the boy muttered.
Bamm hadn't understood anything he said. It was a different language. The stranger's voice was soft, very low. Like the scent of a flower.
The boy did not receive an answer, he requested once more for the damage report, but he only heard the sound of the fathoms devouring his ship.
—This is bad— I mutter.
He got up, resting his hands on the ground so as not to fall. His gaze met small dark eyes full of curiosity, reflecting the orange and red of the dancing flames. He was the tallest person he had ever seen, maybe six feet or more. His gigantic body wore furs, on the soles of his feet he had a layer of earth.
Bamm smiled, but the boy slumped again.