Khochu cried so much that he fell asleep beside the fire. He dreamt of the place where humans belonged. He felt the warmth and saw a shimmering waterfall. Khochu himself was in the dream.
He sat in his canoe and paddled to the rushing blanket of water. Holding out his hands, he held them under the water and watched as the droplets created rainbows.
Eva soared by his head and headed toward the top of the falls.
Down below, Khochu smiled at the sight of her flying gracefully.
Outside the dream world, Khochu stretched his legs and clenched his fist.
In the light of the fire, a shadow appeared on the rocky walls. It looked to be about four times the size of Khochu and crept closer to him. As it did, the shadow shrank, but tripped over a rock.
Gasping, Khochu woke, and his first instinct was to grab a rock. He whipped his head toward the sound. The blood in his mouth and on his cheek was starting to dry, but a few scars were taking the blood's place.
Khochu prepared to chuck the stone, but stopped when the creature stepped out of the shadows. His jaw dropped, and the rock fell from his hand. "Kobe!"
Kobe stood before him. His mesmerizing, blue eyes met Khochu's, and his tail wagged.
At the same time, the two friends hurried to each other.
"Kobe!" Khochu grabbed the dog and pulled him to the ground. "You're here! How did you find me?"
Kobe licked his face and pushed his head into his owner's chest.
"Oh, Kobe. Thank you," Khochu said.
***
The two friends found a way out of the cave, or at least Kobe showed his owner where he entered. He moved slowly, though, so the journey back outside took longer than it should have.
Kobe led Khochu to the cave's exit, but what Khochu found was that the wall had collapsed, and rocks blocked the way to the outside world.
Kobe's nose twitched, and he peered over his shoulder.
Khochu edged closer to the rocks and asked, "How did you get in? The ceiling's collapsed."
Kobe trotted to a small opening in the wall and slid through it as if it were a dog door. He appeared on the other side and planted his feet in the snow. Above him, clouds rolled in, and the wind started to blow.
Kobe peered into the hole he slipped out of and met eyes with Khochu. Unfortunately, the hole was too small for him. If only he were eight years old again. He would have made it at that age, but not as a teenager. Instead, he had to dig his way to the other side. The first thing he did was kick a few small stones down the wall.
On the other side, Kobe tried to help him.
Khochu attempted to push a huge rock aside, but ended up straining his arm. Yelping, he pulled away and clutched it. "I can't get out, Kobe! My arm!" All he could do was stick his good arm through the hole and hold his hand out to Kobe.
The dog grabbed his sleeve and pulled, but within a minute, he had to rest. Panting, he fell onto his side.
"Kobe, no!" Khochu yelled. "Please! You've got to hang on!" The poor dog was just so old.
Khochu could do nothing about the situation. Therefore, he leaned against the wall and watched his frozen breath waft away from him. Icicles formed in his hair, and he shivered. How could his ancestors expect him to handle his rite of passage when the cold and snow overthrew him? He was not ready, and that proved it.
Khochu's tummy rumbled, and he reached for it; however, that led him to something he would never do.
Kobe crawled back into the cave to comfort him and plopped down across from him.
Khochu watched him for a good while, remembering all the good times they had together. He observed Kobe's chest, which rose and fell gently. While he watched his friend, he picked up a stone and made a small dagger from it. To help him with his creation, he broke off an unnecessary part of his bow. The dagger point was so sharp that he cut himself by merely tapping it.
Kobe closed his blue eyes and took a nap, so he could be well rested when they returned to the village.
In that time, Khochu finished his dagger and stood. His mouth watered, and his tummy continued rumbling.
His ancestors' words echoed in his brain as he slowly approached Kobe: "To survive, you must kill."
Khochu did not want to kill, but felt like this was the best thing for Kobe. He lived a long and healthy life, but Khochu had been by his side the entire time. Kobe was the first animal friend he ever had that he remembered. They hunted in packs, swam, played, and never left each other's sides, but that was back in their earlier days.
Khochu's hands started to sweat, but he held the dagger over the dog's weak body. "Kobe, I'm sorry," he whimpered.
Just before he could follow through with his attack, Kobe whined. He opened his eyes and stared at Khochu. At the sight of the dagger, he pulled his ears back and growled.
Khochu heard the dog's thoughts. While he was hungry, he had to hear what the dog wanted first. With that in mind, Khochu sighed and lowered his dagger. Glancing at it, he yelled and threw it. The dagger flew into the wall and landed beside a rock.
Khochu shivered and plopped down on his backside again. He wrapped his arms around him and tried to warm up. He couldn't make another fire because he used all the wood that broke from the tree on the last one.
Kobe pushed himself to his feet and slowly approached Khochu. He lay down on his lap and rested his head on his arm. If they were going to die, they were going to die together.
Before all could be lost, though, Eva came. She found an elk carcass during her flight and carried it to the cave. Dropping the dead animal, she landed before the hole Kobe crawled out of and called to him.
Inside, Kobe and Khochu heard her.
A question mark seemed to appear above Khochu's head. "Eva?" he inquired, cracking a feeble smile. "Eva!" Struggling to his feet, he picked up his dagger and attached it to the belt on his coat. He and Kobe sauntered to the hole, and Kobe crawled back through it.
Once outside, he looked up at the teratorn. His blue eyes then rolled to the elk carcass, and he barked, "Thank you," at Eva.
She nodded and rubbed her bill on his side. She and Kobe turned to the hole, their faces reading that everything would be okay now for Khochu, now that they were together.
Khochu's eyes moved from the elk to the size of the hole before him. He repeated that for a couple of minutes, and then an idea popped into his head. "Perfect!"
Kobe and Eva gave him bewildered looks.
"Quickly!" Khochu shouted, motioning at the elk. "We need to eat that elk!"
Kobe and Eva wondered why he grew so excited. It couldn't just be because he was starving.
Eva pinned the elk underfoot, and Kobe ripped off one of its legs. With his head, he pushed it into the hole.
"Thank you, Kobe," Khochu spoke, accepting the treat. Together, he and his friends enjoyed a nice elk for dinner.
Kobe and Eva, though, were messier eaters than Khochu. They violently pulled off body parts and meat and used their claws to rip off smaller pieces.
Kobe snarled every time Eva came closer to get another helping.
Meanwhile, Khochu just ate his meal in peace. He shivered at the sight of the fighting animals and used the tip of his dagger like a fork. He knew his friends were hungry, but they were never that aggressive at mealtime. Then again, food was extremely scarce.
Shivering again, Khochu said, "This is disgusting," to himself. He called to his friends, but they were making too much noise to listen. He ripped the rest of the meat off the elk's femur and tossed it aside. Protecting himself with his arms, he cuddled against a rock. His back faced Kobe and Eva, but he still heard them fighting.
Khochu's eyes rolled up to the ceiling, and he held his hand to it. A gust of wind created a path from the wall to him. The Spirits were talking to him.
Khochu giggled. "You figured out my plan, didn't you? Now, if only Eva and Kobe would stop fighting." A touch of anger washed through his body, and he yelled at his friends, "Knock it off!"
Eva and Kobe immediately stopped, and each of them shuddered.
Khochu peeped through the hole. "Look at you guys. You look like a bunch of wild animals having a wrestling match with a sloth. These are difficult times, and we're not going to get anywhere if we fight. Look at you two compared to me. You're free. Me? The Spirits are punishing me, but they say my punishment is over. So, please. Can we get along until I'm out of here? Remember my ancestors' voices. 'Survival is like a game. You either win or lose.'"
Those words knocked the animals back a step, and they seemed to sigh.
Kobe dropped the piece of meat he ripped off the elk and crawled back into the hole. He brought the elk pelt with him. He dug into the dirt and snow, while Khochu used the femur bone like a hammer.
He chipped away at the ice and rocks, rubbing his sweaty brow. All he had to do was make the hole a little larger. However, only thirty minutes into the job, he wore himself out.
By that time, the storm hit the frozen landscape. Wind whistled through the wall.
Eva took off and took shelter in another tunnel higher up the ravine.
The day was winding down. Khochu hoped that by morning, the storm would have passed, and he could make it home safely. He also needed to rest his arm, and chipping away at the rocks and ice was not helping.
Tossing the femur aside, Khochu plopped down. He used his hood as a pillow.
Kobe tossed the elk pelt over Khochu's frozen body and lay down beside him.
As the two tried to fall asleep, Khochu thought about what his ancestors told him. His rite of passage. It was time, but why didn't he feel ready? He wondered if the other boys who had also come of age felt the same.
***
Not only did the storm hit the ravine—it also struck Khochu's village.
Pelts danced on clothesline-like strings, and humans quickly took cover. Only two remained: Vika and Sasha. Well, more Vika.
She trekked through the storm, wearing a mammoth pelt, and searched for her son. Sasha tried to stop her, but Vika kept going. "Khochu!" she shouted over the howling wind. "Khochu!" Icicles appeared on her long, brown hair, and snowflakes covered her eyebrows.
"Vika!" Sasha yelled behind her.
Vika heard him, but refused to turn back until she found her son. He had been gone too long.
Coughing, Vika pulled her pelt close and continued her journey.
Sasha eventually caught up and grabbed her shoulder. "Vika, stop!" Vika tried to move, but he held his arms up to her chest. "Stop!"
At the thought of Khochu out in the horrific storm, Vika started to cry. "No!" she argued. "My boy! My boy is all alone in that!"
Sasha, who continued to protect her, dragged her onto the ground and gripped her shoulder. "My love!" he shouted over the wind, gesturing at the storm. "There is no way we can search for him in this weather! The ancestors will guide him home! They always do!"
"But he has never been gone this long!" Vika cried. "I fear he's hurt! I have to go to him!"
"We can't. We have to wait until the storm passes. I promise you he is going to come home. After all"—Sasha met his mate's eyes—"he is the next chosen chief."