Chapter 12 Tracks by The River

Sneaking up towards the deer, Gabriel made sure his feet didn't step on any leaves or sticks to give him away and yet the deer still heard him somehow and ran away before he could get very close. Leaning against the nearest tree in frustration, he thought about all the variables.

He made sure the wind was blowing in the right direction, so it didn't smell him. The herbs he had rubbed on himself hid the man-smell he was sure he had. The brush and trees hid his form, and he had moved slowly, stopping often to make sure he blended in, and yet none of it mattered, because he had seen those big ears swivel his direction and then it was off. Could they hear his heart or his breathing?

There had to be something he was doing wrong.

Heading towards a narrow stream where the water ran cool and sweet, he thought over all of his attempts. He had gotten good enough, he could almost touch the fur of a rabbit before it knew he was there, but the deer still evaded him.

Leaning over the water, his eyes landed on deer tracks that were fresh based on the depth they had sunk into the soft mud. Glancing up and down the stream he suddenly had an idea. If they could somehow hear him, what if he tried sneaking up on them when there was background noise to drown him out?

The next morning, when he woke high in the tree he had chosen to sleep in, he saw that it was overcast and cool. Maybe it would rain and he could finally sneak up on a deer!

Climbing down from the tree, he noticed a shape behind some tall bushes not far away and immediately slowed his movements. Could that be a deer? Or was it a monster he needed to kill? Weighing his options, he decided it probably wasn't a monster and started sneaking up on it.

The first couple of raindrops brought a small smile to his lips. With the sound of the drops, he was sure he would succeed. Peeking through the last of the bushes his jaw dropped.

Just before him, shaking with exertion, was a doe giving birth. The legs and head of the newborn fawn were dangling as Gabriel watched in fascination. He knew how babies were born, but this was the first time he had witnessed anything like this.

As the baby fell to the ground, the mother started licking the wet mucus off of it, and the baby immediately started trying to stand.

Before Gabriel could blink, a flash of tawny fur shot by his eyes and the mother was gone. A large cat, of a different breed than he had killed before, had taken advantage of the mother's distraction and killed her. Fighting against the urge to react, Gabriel clutched his spear and brought his breathing under control.

The baby fawn had crumbled into a pile of wet fur when its mother was grabbed, and pretended to be a clump of wet dirt. Gabriel had seen the survival technique many times but knew it wouldn't survive without its mother. As the cat moved to drag the dead deer away, Gabriel wondered what he should do. The cat would be a threat to anyone in the compound and he should kill it, but what of the fawn?

Shaking his head, he knew there was nothing he could do, and hoisted his spear. With a mighty throw, the weapon hit the cat squarely, bringing the predator down before it realized it was being hunted. Moving to retrieve the spear, he squatted to start gutting both of the dead animals. The meat would feed him for a long time.

Turning his head at a noise behind him, he turned to see another doe licking the orphaned fawn. A second fawn looked on curiously. Scrunching his face, he watched as the doe coaxed the baby to rise and follow her. Why had it done that? Did it think the baby was its own? Did it know the baby was orphaned? He had never seen a doe with two babies before.

Afraid to move lest the doe noticed him, he watched as the three moved off into the trees and disappeared from sight. Turning back to what he had been doing, Gabriel wondered at what he had seen. Was it common for mothers to take children that weren't their own? Did the child know it was being raised by someone not its mother? Could that have happened to him? Was that why his mother was willing to let his father take him and mistreat him as he had?

With a frown, Gabriel decided he needed to see his mother and ask her these questions. It was time to work on sneaking into the compound. Men couldn't hear or smell as well as animals, and if he could sneak up on an animal, then sneaking past men shouldn't be that hard.

It would be cold soon, and the hide from the cat would be warm. He would save the hide from the deer as well, but they never lasted long. There was a way to make the hide softer and last longer, but he didn't know how to do it. His father refused to teach him, claiming it would make him hardier, and he clenched his teeth in anger. Maybe once he snuck into the compound, he could grab some of the better leather to stay warm.

Stacking everything onto the deer pelt, he wrapped it up and hoisted it up onto his shoulder for the trip back to his camp. Gabriel didn't want to leave a trail by dragging it, and the debris on the ground might damage the pelt he was trying to save.

Right before he reached his camp, he paused. Someone was there snooping around. Crouching down, he watched as the figure picked up something and examined it before putting it back down. A squirrel chattered at the person, causing him to look up where Gabriel could see his father's face.

What was he doing? Was he watching him again? Checking to see how well he was surviving? Coming to sabotage him?

With a frown Gabriel decided to abandon the camp and head over to a ridge not far away, that he had taken refuge in before. The rain was starting to pick up, which was good. It would hide his tracks if his father tried to follow them. He needed to be careful in the future to hide his camp better.

Setting the heavy bundle down in the small cave, he glanced around to make absolutely certain nothing else had taken refuge from the storm. Killing the small snake that he found, Gabriel tossed it over by the meat. It wouldn't be much of a bite, but his father had instilled in him the obligation not to waste anything.

In the back of the small space, Gabriel began making a fire with the wood he had stored there earlier. Cracks in the roof allowed the smoke to work its way out, but also allowed the rain entry. Ignoring the constant dripping, he moved the meat closer and started cleaning it better. Most of it would be dried and stored for later, when he couldn't find food.

Thinking about his father in his abandoned camp left a sour taste in Gabriel's mouth. He would have to set up multiple camps so he could move between them often. There must have been a clear trail to the one his father found, and Gabriel was determined not to have that happen again.

Once the storm blew over, he was going to start investigating the compound. He knew that there were guards who patrolled the land around the walls, but his father had told him he couldn't go into the compound itself, so if a guard saw him outside the walls, they shouldn't attack him. His frown deepened as he thought about his father informing the guards that they were to kill him if he set foot inside the compound and shook his head.

No. He couldn't risk any of the guards seeing him ever. He had no way to know what his father had told them.

The next morning was wet but the storm was gone. Gabriel was perched up in a tree watching the guards talk by the front entrance before they headed out to patrol. They went in groups of four and several walked under the tree he was hiding in without realizing he was there. It didn't take him long to understand that the men never looked up.

He had been hiding in this tree since before dawn, so anyone who did glance his way would only see part of the tree. The tree was plenty high enough for him to see into the compound itself, so he studied what path he would take. Once he managed to get inside the walls, there was still a long way to go before he got to the village itself and he didn't want to run into his father or any of the guards.

As the guards gathered to change out their shifts, about midday, Gabriel saw a group of people he had never seen before arriving. They had come from the West and were driving wagons pulled by horses. He watched as they talked for a while and then the guards let them inside.

Gabriel knew without a doubt these people were not from the compound. Their clothing was different. Perhaps he could use the distraction?

As all of the guards watched the wagon, he made his move. Slipping down the trunk of the tree, he quickly ran up to a section of wall hidden by a bend and started climbing. It was easier to climb the wall, with all of the rocks sticking out, than it was the cliff near his cave. Crouching in some bushes on the inside of the wall, Gabriel carefully scanned the area to make sure he hadn't been seen and smiled. This would be easier than he thought.