In less than a minute, father and son had kicked apart the remains of their fire, and were running south.
"As bad as before, do you think?" said Otter as they ran. He had been born during the last long winter, so he had no personal experience.
"Maybe worse," said Little Bear. "I don't remember the light being different, before, but I might not have noticed, back then. I think it looks different now."
"I can maybe see a difference," puffed Otter, "but I'm not sure. Can the tribe survive in the cave again?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Little Bear thought, for a few spear throws, about how much the tribe had grown. "No, almost certainly not," he said. "Last time, there was a lot of game out here. The area hasn't recovered yet from the last bad winter, and we have been hunting up here too much. We would starve. I think moving south is our only chance, and no one wants to spend six months in the dark again. But we'll have to go south right away, or we’ll get caught like we did before."
Little Bear and Otter arrived at the camp late in the day, gasping for breath from their run. The weather was already getting cold, and the tribe was looking anxiously at the sky. Willow, Briar, and the rest of Tiger’s women were eating, over by the fire, and some were cooking meat for some of the men.
Orchid came running over and threw her arms around Little Bear. She never had gotten used to being very far away from him. He went over with her to his family area, while Otter went off to the fire to find Sprout.
Little Bear took some time to check in with his wives and children, to see how they were doing. They were worried about the change in the weather. He couldn't do much to reassure them.
"We have to be ready to go south, far and fast," he said. "Get everything ready." Aspen, Blueberry, Orchid, and Pomegranate all got busy. Living with Little Bear, they knew the routine. If they were going to travel, they had to get everything they needed to carry, including small children, in pouches that could be hung over shoulders.
Even though it was summer, they were still smoking and drying meat, as much as they could, at least in Little Bear's family. They had enough meat to carry with them, but there was still a lot of preparation to do.
Tiger came in with the hunting party. He put down the small antelope he had killed, and walked over to talk to Little Bear. Briar joined them.
"What do you think?" Tiger said.
"I think it could be worse than before," said Little Bear. "I don't remember the light being different."
"Worse!" said Tiger. He squinted up at the sun. "Are you sure the light is different?"
"No, it isn't different," said Briar. "It is colder, though."
Little Bear sighed in exasperation. Leave it to Briar to contradict anything he said.
"I don't know for sure that the light is different," said Little Bear, "but I think it is. If it is, it could be much worse than before. We need to move south at once."
"It was cold in the south, too," said Briar. "More than half our tribe died, and we were south of where you found us. I am told your cave was very warm."
"It was," said Little Bear, "but--"
"We should stay in the cave," said Briar, looking to Tiger.
"We can't do that," said Little Bear. "There won't be enough food!"
They argued the point for a long time before Tiger put an end to it.
Tiger looked between his wife and Little Bear, then set his jaw. "We will stay in the cave," he said. "We made it through the last long winter in the cave, and we will make it through this one."
When Little Bear opened his mouth to object, Tiger said, "I have spoken."
Little Bear was prepared to argue more, but was interrupted by Otter, running over from the fire. "Little Bear," he said, "You have to come right away! Willow is sick again."
"Willow!" said Tiger, then turned to Little Bear. "Help her," he pleaded, not even looking to Briar.
Little Bear turned and ran over to the fire, the other three following. He had seen Willow earlier, eating her meal with the rest of Tiger's women, and she had seemed fine.
Now, Willow was curled up on her side, unconscious, holding her stomach as if in pain. She had thrown up. He peeled back an eyelid, and her pupils were dilated. She did not have a fever.
Briar patted her husband's arm, and said, "Little Bear won't let her die."
Little Bear looked sharply up at that. Briar had never once spoken positively about anything he had done for a tribal member, yet she seemed perfectly willing for him to be the only one to take care of Willow. She looked deeply concerned, looking down at them. Little Bear returned his attention to Willow.
Willow was indeed very sick, but Little Bear could not tell what was wrong with her.
Something about the smell of where Willow had been sick reminded him of something very familiar. He closed his eyes, and thought it reminded him of the Cave of Flying.
He looked up at Briar again, and went back to his family sleeping place, and pulled out the skin that had held the last of his remaining medicines. The powerful antibiotic that was also a poison was gone.
Briar had watched him give a small amount to Willow and Sprout, and she had heard him warn Sprout that too much of it could kill. Little Bear looked around, and Sprout was watching anxiously, with Otter. He heaved a sigh of relief that she was okay, and then turned back to Willow.
She was in trouble. He could not remember exactly how much of the mold powder had been left, but if Briar had managed to get it all into Willow, there was nothing he could do for her.
[end of chapter -- did you vote?]