Crisscross Moon - 22. Chapter 22

22.

Although the boy knew he shouldn't be thinking about the girl, he still thought about her. He knew that even if the warriors got all the women and children out of the cave, the first person the girl would go to would be her husband and that she'd only hate the boy more. That didn't bother him. Because he knew he was the one who'd gotten everyone trapped.

Still, he thought about her as he began to search the caves. He knew what he was looking for, a cave with a stream. He was sure the women's cave had one, but the women might not understand how to use it. They didn't know that they might be able to go into the stream to get out of the cave.

There was no reason for them to know that. People usually stayed away from caves because other people had gone into them and never come out. Warriors were taught to explore caves, but they knew they were as dangerous as bears.

The boy started by searching the cave he slept in. He didn't even know how big it was. Once he'd realized he couldn't explore it with a torch, he'd never tried. It could be narrow and then get wide, and the women and children could be in this cave, just at the far side. Or there could be another stream, and the women and children could be on the other side of that.

But he couldn't walk safely into this cave. He could fall and hit his head and die alone. He knew the best way to explore a cave in the dark was to move slowly around its edge, always keeping in touch with the wall. If the cave didn't have another entrance, he'd come back to where he started. Then he'd know the size of the cave and could crawl slowly into it if needed.

Most caves were easier to explore than this one. Many were shallow and could be searched even without a torch. All the boy usually needed to know about a cave was if it was safe to hide in when he was being chased.

Now, he just needed to know if the cave had a stream. If it didn't, he could stop exploring. If it did, and the boy was lucky enough, once he crossed the stream, he'd hear the women and children. Or he'd see their fire or smell its smoke.

He didn't think the hidden cave was connected to the one he slept in. That was too far away. When he first saw the girl, she was in what she called the middle forest, and his cave was further from the village than that. The hidden cave was near the village, so everyone could get to it quickly. Still, just so he remembered how to explore in the dark, the boy began to search his cave.

He slowly circled it. The wall he kept trying to keep hold of was rough, and he often had to grab for it when it slipped out of reach. When the wall was wet, he'd follow the water to the ground or kneel and stretch a short way into the cave to see if he could find where the water was coming from. Or where it was going. Most of the time, it was a just puddle, often from a drip overhead.

There was also a chance that a stream didn't come out in only one place in a cave. Just as the boy had seen rivers wind around rocks and trees, he knew that streams in caves sometimes did the same. The water could reach a wall and travel almost unseen along it until it found a place to puddle. Or the water could go down the smallest hole and seem to vanish.

If the boy found a stream that went down, it was useless to him. If the water went through too small a hole in a wall, there was also no point in following it out. He needed a stream large enough to get into. And he thought that if there was one in his sleeping cave, then there were others.

When he reached the place in his sleeping cave where he'd started, the boy sat down. He knew he was in the same spot because he'd marked it with a pile of rocks, just as he'd been taught. He thought about how many caves were near the village and how many he'd have to search. He'd explored a lot of them because he always needed places to hide when he was following the girl. He was always worried that he'd be caught, and he thought about that again now. He thought that he might not be the only one looking for another way into the hidden cave. The other warriors could also be looking. And they might find him instead.

He wondered if they were even thinking about him. There was a chance they were worried about a larger group of men. If the boy's last attack on the village had really made the older warriors think he wasn't alone, then the younger warriors could be worried about a larger group of men. Still, the boy knew that when warriors attacked a village and failed, they simply ran and tried to save themselves. And when they were on a hunt and found nothing, they went home. The boy knew the girl's warriors would know this, so they might not be worried about another attack. They might be so busy trying to free the women and children that they were just thinking about that. So if he stayed out of sight, they might forget him.

He also thought he might know more about the caves than any of the warriors. They'd been there longer, but there was less reason for them to explore. There were safer ways to catch small animals than by going into the dark. And the animals the warriors hunted were usually bigger.

The boy also had more time. While he was waiting for his leg to get stronger, he had little to do but explore. The warriors had to hunt and protect their village. They had to teach their boys to become warriors. And they had to stay strong themselves.

The boy finally left his cave to see if there was light. There was some, and he could have searched for a while longer, but not where he wanted to. He really wanted to be near the hidden cave, though he might not be safe there, even in the dark. And even if he was away from the warriors, it wasn't always easy to find a cave without light. Once he was inside it, he could use a torch. But in the light, he could more easily find a cave and remember how well he'd explored it.

Often, he only knew where a cave was. If there were lions or bears in it, he wasn't going to use the cave to hide. Though now the boy worried that one of those places might be the other entrance to the hidden cave. If that were true, and if the girl's warriors weren't nearby, the boy could use smoke to get the animals out. But if the warriors were close and the boy lit a fire, it would only tell them where he was.

He decided to wait till there was light. He'd eat and sleep, and he'd search again when that was easier. He went back to his cave and lay on the rock. He'd never found a way to bring dry leaves or even the skins from the small animals he'd caught into the cave to use them to sleep on. He could bring them in, but they'd always stay wet. Still, his cave wasn't cold, so he was fine.

He thought he'd sleep as soon as he lay on the rock, but he kept thinking about the girl. He could see her walking in the forest and working in the fields. He could see her talking with the other women and with her sons and husband and family. She'd always seemed to be happy in her village, and it seemed like a good place to live. And the boy realized that if he had a wife and sons and a peaceful village like that, he'd kill any man who tried to take that away from him. And he wondered why he ever thought the girl could be his.

Still, he had to find her. He had to get her out of the cave. Maybe while he searched, her warriors would find a way to do that. Or maybe the women would find their own way out. Then the boy could just leave. He could go home. And that would be fine. He wanted to be home.

He could barely remember his village, and it seemed like he'd always lived in this forest by himself. It wasn't a surprise that he thought so much about the girl. He had to keep himself alive, and that wasn't always easy. But he still had so much other time, and the girl was so good to think about.

(continued)