The First Jumper (first draft version)

The First Jumper 50: Otter

Tiger and Briar were insistent that they could survive a long winter in the cave, because the tribe had done it before.  No one liked that idea, but they began gathering wood as never before, building up a huge supply.  After spending six months in the dark, the last time, the older adults were frantic to gather wood.  The younger ones caught on to the urgency, and the whole tribe worked at it, except those who were hunting.  They continued gathering wood, until they had filled a quarter of the large cave.

The women of his family carried Otter into the cave.  Sprout and Orchid stayed with him.  Blueberry showed them where to put the old bearskin, which had not rotted, in the first cave off the cave of teeth, and they put Otter on it.  When Sprout asked her why there, instead of the big cave, Blueberry was glad the others couldn’t see her blush.  She was pretty sure it was in that spot that Otter had gotten started, between her mother and Little Bear.

Sprout only left Otter’s side, in the next week, when she absolutely had to.  Orchid only left his side when she was peeled away from him, coming back as quickly as she could.  Blueberry and Pomegranate took it upon themselves to make sure the two women got food.

The funeral cave had not been disturbed, apparently.  The bodies had shrivelled down to bones and skin, but they were where they had been left, so many years before.

Hunting parties went aggressively out to collect as much meat as possible, to smoke it for preservation.  They started with the cave bear.

After nine days had gone by, Otter opened his eyes.  It took him quite a while to understand why he could not see anything.  He finally realized that he was in near-total darkness, but he could see just a little bit.

He sat up, waking up the two women who were close beside him in the dark.

“Otter?” said Sprout.

“Yes,” he said, and his voice felt different.  “Where are we?”

“We are in the cave,” her voice said.  “We are to stay the winter here.”

“The cave?” said Otter.  “The cave?”  Then he realized what cave she was talking about, and scrambled to his feet in the narrow space.

“We can’t stay here,” he said, falling back down, as the floor seemed to buck and sway under him.

With the help of both women, Otter managed to keep his feet, but he was still unsteady.  They helped him out into the cave of teeth, and around to the bear cave, and then to the entrance.  

From the entrance of the cave, Otter looked out at the forest.  He stepped out onto the ledge, and noticed that it was bitterly cold--not like a night in late summer at all.

“How long was I asleep?” he asked.

“Almost ten days,” said Sprout.

“Ten days,” he said.  He looked out into the cold forest.  “So it’s still summer, then.  How much wood and meat have they collected?”

“A lot,” said Sprout.  “More wood than I’ve ever seen in one place.  Meat?  Not so much.”

“That’s the main problem,” said Otter.  “If we stay here for another three-year winter, we’ll be eating each other before the end of it.”

“Otter!” said Sprout.  “Our tribe would never do that.”

“Ours did,” said Orchid.  “Shusgool made them do it.  I think Briar plans to do the same thing.”

“Who is Shusgool?” said Sprout.

Otter said, “She was Briar’s mother’s mother.  She was a nasty old hag.”