The next cycle.
Dave again does a head count as all the men return from the hunt. They all carry various small rodents and Bill drops a long thick snake.
"Oh, goodie, snake. It's snake-a-licious," says Matthew.
"Where food, Dave?" asks Lisa in an annoyed voice.
"Heard not back, Lisa. It's tough for all neandrethals out there."
"What are we going to do for food? There are nine mouths to feed."
"Oh, I just love your de-neandrethalizing talk."
"I'm serious, Dave."
"I know. We'll just have to make do until the heard realizes the Badlands are bad and comes back. Plus, you have another six cycles until you're free for trading."
"Oof," she grunts in frustration, "If I could make you look like a woman and trade you, I would."
"Me - ever looking like a woman? Seems highly unlikely."
Jimmy walks over, "Dave, don't you think we should get to skinnin' and cookin' these gamey varmints?"
"You're right, sir. Lisa, can you tell Beth it's that time again?"
"On it."
Jimmy waddles up to Dave who is examining the day's catch.
"Saved your bacon," says Mr. James.
"Thank you, Mr. James."
"No problem; I expect you to do the same next time Beth is on one of her zanny rants."
"Sure. What is 'bacon', by the way?"
"Don't know, but it sounds delicious."

Next scene: Beth is using two sticks to make a fire; smoke rises up from them.
"Fire, fire, fire, fire. FFFiiiiieeerrr. FIRE!" it sparks and lights up the kindling, "BURN. Bbbuuuuurrrnnnnn! HAHAHA!"
Dave looks over at Lis who is looking at him, and says in a low voice, "It is a little disconcerting that she does that every time."
"Quiry," says Bill.
"Yes, Bill?"
"Next time we're flush with meat, can you find a clan to trade a non-reproductive encounter for me? Preferably the blonde chick from the Cave Bear clan. Ayla."
"I'll see what I can do, Bill."
"I thought I was your female-of-preference," Catherine says to Bill.
"I'm just keeping trading options open for Dave," Bill replies back.
"Oh, gosh, Bill," Dave says with sarcasm, "your selflessness knows no bounds."
"I'm a giver. You're welcome. You're all welcome."
"Anyway, remember your rodent-on-a-stick will cook faster, so rotate and-"
"Dave," Mr. James interrupts Dave.
"Yes, Mr. James?"
"Joe's doing something to the cave wall," Mr. James points.
"No, not the cave wall," shooting up, "we need that to live under," and he rushes away.
Beth looks at her rodent-on-a-stick, then starts crying, "Miiike..."
Dave quickly walks over and stops a couple of feet from Joe.
"Joe, what are you smearing on the cave wall?"
"I call it the smeared record."
"Okay, I admit I'm a little curious; wat is a 'smeared record'?"
"I figure, instead of forgetting things and relying on memory to pass down knowledge, we could smear a depiction of events on the wall."
"Huh. What does this depict?" pointing at what Joe has painted already.
"Well, from left to right, this shows us tracking the sabertooth tiger we killed seven cycles ago, fighting it, killing it, and feasting on it. See, we're the little stick figures. The wider one is obviously Mr. James."
"And which one am I?"
"Obviously you're the one with the tie."
"Well, Joe, I have to congratulate you."
"Thanks."
"On another stunning waste of time."
"Dude."
"Again, Joe, I have no idea what a 'dude' is. We hunt and kill a sabertooth or baby mammoth every week to feed us; why would we need a smeared records of everyday events? We know the things we did, Joe, in fact, we're the ones who did them. Why don't you go do something productive, like help Matthew sharpen spears; and try not to stab him this time. Man will never have a need for a record."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going..." Joe grumbles off.
Dave shakes his head, "A smeared record."

.
About thirty or more minutes later. Everybody sits around the fire while eating in silence.
"So, no one's gonna say anything? It's rather awkward nine of is sitting here eating cooked rodents with sticks up their butts. Why don't I go around the fire and ask each of you if you got something to say. Milos, why don't you start up?"
"Milos has nothing to say."
"Okay, well, that was ... something; wish it had been more. Lisa?"
"Well, I thought you might be interested in knowing how Korg is better in the furs than y-"
"Bill, how about you?" cutting Lisa off.
"Actually, I was hoping to hear more of what Lisa was hopefully going to describe in intimate details."
"Thanks, Bill, helpful as always. How about you, Matthew? And don't ask about going outside."
"Oh. I guess not them," Matthew comments.
"Beth - you got something?"
"You already know what I want, Dave."
"Joe?"
"Well, Dave, I'd like to talk about my smeared record."
"So nothing worth hearing then? says Dave.
"What's a 'smeared record'?" asks Bill.
Joe looks at Dave when he begins his reply, "Thanks for asking, Bill. A 'smeared record', copyright Joe Garrelli 70,000 B.C., is colored liquids and powders smeared on a wall to form cavemen and animals and what not, to have a permanent record of things that were done so we don't rely on not forgetting and faulty memories."
"Interesting. Do you suppose you could smear anatomically-correct females? On the wall and maybe on the wall top above my furs?"
"Sure. I don't see why not."
"Milos is for this," says Milos.
"Fine - we'll have a rock-vote for it later," Dave sighs heavily, "Catherine, surely you have something constructive to add."
"Well ... I was thinking two men from each tribe could form a giant tracking party which could split into two groups which could bring some food and hunt for a heard to maybe steer this way or at least bring back enough food to make due."
"Catherine, that's actually a great idea. Why didn't you say something earlier?" Dave asks her.
"Nobody asked."
"It's a great idea and first thing next cycle start, I'll go around the clans and get them onboard. Joe, Bill, being the most able-bodied men in the cave, you'll be out two."
Cool," says Joe.
"I find this proposal acceptable," Bill says, puffing away on his smoke stick.
"I'm glad you agree, Bill, 'cause you were going anyway, regardless of approval," says Dave.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dave - what about ol' me? Aren't you going to ask me if I have anything to say?"
"Oh, Mr. James, I'm so sorry. Yes, please go head."
"Thank you," he takes a deep breath, holds it a second, then exhales quickly, following it up with, "Nope, I got nothin'."
"Okay then. Still a better contribution than most around the fire," says Dave.
"You know us old neandrethals - full of wisdom," says Mr. James.
The ground suddenly shakes. They all stop and listen. Again it shakes.
"TINY ARMS!" a caveman yells out.
Dave leaps up, "Beth - feed the fire! Matthew - the Boulder of Life!"
"It's right over there, David," Matthew points.
"I know that Matthew! Close the cave so we don't get eaten! Guys, help him move it!"
They all run over. Dave steps outside and sees boulders shut other cave entrances off. He looks over to the other side and sees the T-Rex, which then sees him and begins lumbering over. Dave dashes inside and helps move the boulder, too. The ground and cave shake violently as it nears; loose dirt and small rocks come off the ceiling.
They quickly sit behind the rock to add extra weight. The light from the cracks goes dark as the T-Rex in front of the boulder. It sniffs at a bigger gap, sending sand flying in and all over Matthew. Catherine, Lisa, and Beth stay way back further in the cave.
About thirty minutes later, after getting an all clear from a cave too high up for the T-Rex to reach, they open the cave back up; Dave walks out.
Dave yells up to the look out, "Lookout Thag - we lose anyone?"
"Thag the youngest below me slipped and fell; Tiny Arms eat him."
"Oh, that sad," Dave comments.
"I call dibs on his female," says Lookout Thag quickly.
"At least there was a period of grief, however short it was."
"Isn't it unusual for Tiny Arms to make day time cave raids?" Catherine asks aloud.
"With the heard still gone, the predators are using what's left; more demand, same supply. Tiny Arms must be getting desperate for doo," Mr. James comments back to her.
"Maybe we can sacrifice the Zorg clan; that should appease the sky gods," says Dave.
"Or that Korg. A stick!" says Joe.
"Dave, Tiny Arms just wants to eat like you or I," Beth says to him.
"Beth, Tiny Arms wants to eat you or I. Preferably both."
"I envision a future where we'll all be able to communicate with out dinosaur brethren and ride atop them," says Beth.
"Like some kind of ... dinoriders? Beth, that's crazy, even for you," Dave says to her.
"Is it? Is it really, Dave?" Beth asks in her weird tone.
"Yes. Yes it is."
"Are you sure?" she moves in closer and gives him questioning eyes.
"Still sure."
She pulls away, "Wroth a shot."
"Beth, shouldn't you go prepare the rodent skins before they start going bad?"
"Dave, I have dreams, I have aspirations!"
"And you can have those when you're not working and when you're asleep."
"Going..." her head and arms droop in disappointment.
"Thank you."
"Dave, I envy your ability to handle the crazy," says Mr. James.
"Unfortunately came with the job, sir."
"Yeah, I know. Speaking of the crazy, Joe's chisilin' on something again," Mr. James says, pointing.
Dave sighs, "I better go check it out just in case. Let Lisa know to prepare for Korg encounter number two."
"Ohh, smoothly done," says Mr. James.
"I thought so, "Dave says as he walks away. He stops at Joe, "Joe ... what'cha doin'?"
"Check this out," he quickly throws an animal kin over it.
"Joe, I already say it."
"Presenting..." he pulls the animal skin off, "The Garrelli 10!"
Dave looks at something chisiled out of stone, "What is it?"
"I call it the mug."
"What does this mug do?"
"Well, nothing on it's own. But you can put stuff in it," Joe replies.
"Like what?" Dave asks. A rodent bone flies across the cave and smacks him in the head.
"Seeds, kindling."
"We got rodent skin pouches for that."
"Also, you could put water in it, and drink from it."
"We're doing that with rodent pouches already."
"Ah, but this has a handle."
"What's a handle?"
"Imagine a stick attached to a drinking pouch. Only this is sturdy and not prune to spilling from being squeezed too hard. It needs a little more polishing - I've been chisiling at it for like five cycles now. Hold it."
"I don't know, Joe, it seems redundant and like it doesn't serve any real pur-"
"Here," Joe shoves it in Dave's right hand.
Dave is suddenly awkwardly silent. He stares at the mug and moves it around, "Oh," he says in a moderately excited voice. He moves it up and down, OH," he says with more excitement, "Oh Joe," he then steps around with it in hand, "Joe - this is - Joe, I think you're really on to something here," he continues eying the mug.
"You like it? Joe says excitedly. "You've not liked any of them since the Garrelli 1 - fire."
"I do," Dave says, enthralled by the mug.
"Cool. What are you going to use it for?"
"I ... I don't know. I just feel this connection with it. Like it was supposed to be in my hand all along."
"Huh. That's weird. Well, just hand it back and I'll finish polishing it off tomorrow," he reaches for the mug.
"NO!" Dave yells, pulling away from Joe. "I mean ... it looks fine the way it is."
"All right, no problem. So, what are you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to go to sleep with it tonight."
"Dude, - you're not going to do some weird sexu-"
"Goodness no. Just cuddle with it and keep it close. Never let it go."
"Won't that be a little awkward when Lisa naps with you tomorrow?"
"She'll just have to accept my new love."
"Don't tell her you love it, and try to keep it away from your crotch."
"That's probably good advice."
Lisa walks up carrying a little more meat, "Let's go, Joe."
They walk to the cave exit.
"Krazzapy, Lisa," Dave calls out.
Dave turns about and walks over to Mr. James, who is sitting with Beth, Matthew and Milos, Bill and Catherine. Dave brings the mug up to his mouth and then back down.
"So, what did Joe make this time?" asks Mr. James.
"The Garrelli 10 - the mug."
"You look awful taken by it; what's the dealy-o?" asks Mr. James.
"I think this may be the greatest invention since fire," says Dave.
"I don't know - fire is going to be hard to top," says Bill.
"Interesting. So what fantastical thing does this stone doohickey do?"
"Honestly, I'm not really sure, but I think it may change neandrethality," Dave replies back to Mr. James.
"So, nothing right now then?" Mr. James comments.
"Apologize to the mug," says Dave.
"Beth," Mr. James nods to Beth.
Beth stands up, walks over to Dave - who pulls the mug back protectively - and slaps Dave across the face.
"Thanks, Beth," says Jimmy.
"Any time."
"Sorry. There's just something about my precious," says Dave.
"As fascinating as all that was ... permission for Catherine and I to turn in?" asks Bill.
"Granted. Krazappy Bill, krazappy Catherine," says Dave.
They head to the back of the cave.
"Dave, Matthew's doing it again," says Beth in a disgusted voice.
"Matthew, don't lick the dead rodent skins. It's thoroughly disgusting."
"I can't help it - they taste so good."
"Eeewwwww..." Beth say loudly.
"Beth, turn in; Milos, finish the skins," Dave orders.
"I think I'm gonna turn in early, too, Dave," says Mr. James.
"Oh, Catherine, could you get that extra fur behind you," we hear Bill's voice say, followed by a prominent BONK.
They all look over.
Dave comments aloud, "There's is an ... odd relationship."
"Krazappy, Dave," says Mr. James.
"Krazappy, Mr. James."
Mr. James heads off.
"Dave, could I maybe lick the skins when nobody is looking?" asks Matthew.
"Matthew, I never thought I'd have to issue such an order, but ... as long as I am in charge of the cave, there will be no licking of dead rodent skins."
"You all don't know what you're missing," says Matthew in a persuading tone.
"And we'll always be thankful for that."
"Then can I turn in early, too?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Matthew, remember the Boulder of Life?"
"Ooohhh yeeeaaahhh; just forgot the one time, Dave."
"Remember: If you don't want to wake up dead, you can't forget."
"I am going to go sit by the boulder and wait diligently for Joe's return."
"Excellent, Matthew."
Matthew walks away. Dave waits a minute and then looks around suspiciously; he then holds the mug back out and looks at it in awe. He again lifts it back up to his mouth and then back down.
"There's just something ... oddly compelling about it."
"Dave, would you and the mug like to get a fur together?" Mr. James calls out.
Dave quickly hides it and acts normally.