24,000 B.C.E.
"Vika! Vika is having another baby!"
The young man's voice swamped through the camp like a herd of bison stampeding across a snow-covered landscape. He rushed past each tent and banged his fist on the elk-skin fabric. "Up! Up! Our ancestors are sending down another member for our tribe!" Dressed in a fur-covered coat, he pulled his hood over his head and tightly gripped his spear in his hands. The time was early morning, and the Sun rose on the horizon. The tribe's village was located between two tall mountains. Surrounding it were caves of all shapes and sizes, as well as glaciers. The first snow just fell, so a fluffy, white blanket covered the land.
At the sound of the man, humans opened their tents and stepped outside to the beautiful but wintry landscape.
Children grabbed their mothers' arms and let them drag them to the deepest, darkest corner of the camp. A fair number of the tribe was already there when they reached a single tent, except that the tent was not as exhilarating as the others. It had multiple rips and tears, and harsh coughing came from deep within it.
The man who made the announcement pushed through the crowd to get a better view of the scene. His long, brown bangs flopped down over his wide forehead, and he nervously sucked them. Vika and her mate, Sasha, had always been so sickly that none of their eight previous children survived past the age of one.
The young man saw Vika. A beautiful twenty-one-year-old, she lay on a fur blanket and clutched her mate's strong hand for comfort.
Sasha, who had a muscular build and a beard, but pale, sickly skin, whispered encouragement to her.
The witch doctor, a woman named Aloy, and her assistant worked together to recover the infant from the ancestors.
The chief, Yerik, was also in the tent, as was the shaman, Nora.
Nora held a stone filled with water. It was her duty to bless the newborn.
Outside the tent, hunters and protectors stood with their spears at the ready, keeping an eye out for any predators. The last thing they wanted was for a Smilodon to charge into the camp and make off with the baby. Hyenas were worse.
Vika's screams echoed throughout the camp, but eventually died. She calmed down and smiled when Aloy offered her a baby.
Her assistant wrapped the blood-covered child in a blanket and listened as he cried up a storm. Crying was a good sign. It meant the baby could breathe. Could the child be the first healthy child in Vika and Sasha's family?
Aloy handed the baby to Vika and said, "It's a boy."
A boy! Vika and Sasha's first boy! The remaining eight children had been girls. As a result, Vika and Sasha were isolated from the tribe.
Vika hugged her baby to her chest, where he drank her milk.
Happy for her, Aloy asked the woman, "What would you like to name him?"
"Khochu," Vika answered. "He's my little Khochu." While she comforted her baby, Nora sprinkled dust and snow on him.
"My gift for this little one is health. He shall grow to become a strong and valiant man—one who will take us to even greater heights, and one who will not disappoint us. The Spirits will forever watch over him. Our ancestors have gifted us with a beautiful and talented child."
The people watching the phenomenon cheered and clapped for Vika.
Yerik, though, crossed his arms and looked away.
The tribe celebrated Khochu's birth for a while, but the hunters and protectors remained at their posts. They could not help but feel like something was watching them, something terrifying. Before long, they heard it—a growl.
As quick as a flash, the men pointed their spears. A few of the youngest shivered and watched the area from which the growl came. However, that wasn't the only thing they heard.
"Yip! Yip!" The high-pitched yipping told the men one thing: the beast was not alone. It had brought along some hyenas.
Sure enough, a huge figure stepped into the light of the rising Sun. Surrounding it was a group of smaller figures. The smaller figures had gray coats with black spots, while the large figure had a pair of knife-like front teeth and a brown coat with brown spots.
"Hyenas!" one of the hunters yelled into Vika's tent.
As soon as he yelled that, the frightened people scattered.
The second they did, the hyenas broke off from the Homotherium and chased them. The cat focused on the toughest humans in the crowd, while the hyenas focused on the weaker and dying.
Inside Vika's tent, Sasha grabbed his mate's hand and urged her to her feet. It was difficult, though, because she was sore from birth and bleeding, but the predators would take her baby if she stayed there, just like her second and third child.
While Sasha tried to get his mate to safety, Yerik grabbed his spear and used it as his own weapon for a while.
The outside scene was gruesome. The hyenas caught a few of the tribe members and enjoyed a nice early meal while they were still alive.
Pain-filled screams exploded into the atmosphere, but they quickly died.
Sasha and Vika reached the most habitable part of the village, but then Vika tripped and fell onto her side. Baby Khochu flew from her grasp.
"Khochu!" Vika shouted at the sight of another hyena sprinting toward him. "No!"
Sasha refused to let her get near Khochu. "Vika, please!" he shouted, grabbing her again. "You've got to let him go!"
"No!" Tears streamed down Vika's pale cheeks. Coughing, she hugged her mate, and they waited for the hyena to eat Khochu.
However, the hyena screeched to a stop before the baby. It stared at him, and he stared back with his deep brown eyes. The hyena sniffed him and the blood on his skin, but did not lick its lips.
Slowly, the baby lifted his tiny hand and moved it toward the creature's nose.
The hyena backed away and dipped its head to the boy. Then, turning on its heel, it took off at a run. It did not even charge for Vika and Sasha.
Unfortunately, the hyena did not get as lucky as the sickly family. Chief Yerik, after slaughtering the Smilodon, shot it with an arrow.
Crying out, the animal collapsed onto its side. As soon as it did, Khochu cried out. It was as if he felt what the hyena felt.
Yerik reached the baby and picked him up. His eyes rolled over to Vika and Sasha, and all three of the humans' eyes widened.
What had happened between Khochu and that predator?