the tree to the left side and he would go to the right. Kaya crept around the tree with her spear held tighdy in hand. She came to a fire pit and felt the ashes; they were cold.
Tala inched around the base of the tree but stopped when he heard rustling noises in the brush. He thought it was Kaya and grinned. He had made it around the tree first. He tiptoed around the corner to tease her and a startled grouse flew out of the brush in front of him. Tala yelled and dropped to his knees, grasping his spear. Kaya, hearing her brother yell, leapt up from the fire pit and rushed toward him.
“It’s all right, I was just startled by a grouse. Did you find anything?” Tala said.
“I found a fire pit but it looks like it hasn’t been used recently,” replied Kaya.
They decided to spend the night and gathered wood for their fire. Once they had the fire going, they made plans for the next morning. They ate some of the dried fish that grandfather had packed.
The fire made loud crackling noises in the silent forest. The light from the flames illuminated the shadows of the moving branches whose darkened limbs seemed to stretch into the night. Exhausted, they both fell asleep with their spears in their hands. They slept unaware of the eyes in the forest watching them.
Kaya awoke in the morning cold and hungry. When she rolled over she discovered her brother was no longer beside her. She leapt to her feet, shouting his name. In her haste she didn’t see the arrow he had drawn in the dirt. Kaya ran around the tree and found fresh footprints. She thought the footprints were Tala’s and decided to follow them. They headed into a ravine. There were also footprints in the mud by the riverbank. Some of the footprints were too big and could not possibly belong to Tala.
Tala must have been taken by kidnappers! She ran up the slope as quickly as she could reaching the top of the hill in time to see figures in the distance going over the ridge. With fear in her heart, she broke into a run.
Tala had awakened before his sister and decided to find a high vantage point to look for the mountains to the north. In case Kaya woke before he came back, he had drawn an arrow in the dirt in the direction he had gone. When he returned to the deserted clearing, he became alarmed and set out in search for her. Tala found several sets of footprints and realized that the smaller tracks were his sister’s. Were the other tracks from the evil ones who had stolen his people’s sacred box? He sprinted off, determined to come to Kaya’s rescue.
Kaya was gaining ground on the evil ones, whom she believed had taken her brother. To avoid being discovered, she followed at a distance. The element of surprise was her only ally. Kaya marched when the evil ones marched and rested when they rested. They headed up a steep hill and over the crest. She stayed behind on the other side to listen for voices.
After a few moments, she went to the top of the hill to see if she could spot Tala. This must be their camp. She heard a loud snap as a branch broke. Kaya’s heart raced and she dared not breathe. Had the evil ones spotted her? She saw a figure out of the corner of her eye and dropped to the ground where she lay, frozen. The footsteps came nearer and nearer. Through the bushes in front of her she could see the boots of a guard.
What was that deafening noise in her ears? Was it only the pounding of her own heart? She felt as if it would burst and she tightened her fingers around her spear in a death grip.
Tala kept losing the trail of small footprints; each time it took precious minutes to find them again. He was so intent on following them he did not see what awaited ahead.
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