[Mkguild] Hunting the Ice Age part 11

[cokane8116 at aol.com]

 Now were up to the actual hunt! 

In writing this I gained a new respect for my ancestors who hunted something the size of a Sherman tank with nothing more than spear, bows and arrows and their wits.

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   Not far away something flew quietly throughthe cold, morning air. It was silent and graceful like a bird but was not one.Instead of wings and feathers it possessed motors and blades. Still it movedwith the certainty of an old flier. The woman controlling it was located notfar from the site of the ambush. The distance between her and the drone was ofno consequence. She could see and hear through the drone as if she was the oneflying.    She had only the vaguest idea of where thehunters and their quarry were. So she went hunting. Flying high like a hawk,moving slowly as she scanned the world below. Taking in all that the dronecould see.    Wherever the drone looked it saw trees andsnow. It gracefully danced around a tall pine tree. It’s branches laden withsnow. It hovered for a moment and filmed a squirrel hiding amidst the pineboughs. It was surprised to be seen so high off the ground and scampered deeperinto the branches. For the perceived safety there.    The drone moved onward, coming upon a largemeadow. The snow that covered it was pristine. Untouched by any livingcreature. A small bush at the edge held two large hares. Both were sittingthere, boldly looking at this new, flying intruder. Trying to gauge if it was athreat or not.    Movement off to the left caught it’sattention and the flyer headed that way. Leaving the two rabbits to themselves.    The huge form of a mammoth broke out of thetree line and lumbered out into an open field. It was a massive thing toweringsome ten feet high and weighing over 6 tons. It resembled the elephants thatstill roamed earth in abundance. But he was larger and covered with a thick,brown fur that kept him safe from even the coldest of winter. It was moving remarkablyfast for something so large.    More figures came out of the woods. A horseof the short and stocky wild breed that had lived in the wilds for millenniawas in the lead. On his back was a man dressed in animal skins and rough,homespun clothing. He was trying to shoot arrows from his bow from thefast-moving horse. All without falling off.    Trailing right behind was a bull elk, it’santlers sharp and making for a formidable weapon. On his back was a woman,dressed the same as her husband on the nearby horse. In her right hand she helda half dozen spears which she was trying to throw at the mammoth with her left.    The drone took up the chase falling in rightbehind the horse and alongside the elk. Keeping close enough to catch all theaction.    The woman on the elk smiled and waved at thedrone and then turned back to the task of slaying the mammoth.    More horses and another elk came up swiftly.Some going to the right of their prey, others to the left. All were shoutingand some were carrying burning torches to add to the confusion and panic in theirprey.    But for all the confusion there seemed to bethey had a plan in mind and were carefully guiding the creature in a specificdirection.  ***************     It was quiet. The wolves were all waitingpatiently and quietly for the hunt to reach them. It was not snowing but thatalready on the ground muffled sound and deadened scents. All Jonathan couldhear was the faint rustle of the trees in the wind. He caught a faint scent ofa rabbit and for a moment considered chasing it down. But he didn’t. Far largergame was headed their way.    All around them was the wild, winter forest.There was no trace of humanity or its civilization here. Just the wilderness ofa place and time long gone but now brought back.    It didn’t seem like he was still on earth.And in a sense he wasn’t. Instead he was in a place where time had rolled backand given humanity a priceless look at the past. A place of deep snow, coldwinds, powerful prey and fierce predators. Where life was hard and short butnever boring.    “Showtime!” Paul announced suddenly. Excitementcreeping into his voice. The leopard was looking off into the distance.    The faint sound of shouting and crashingcame to his sensitive ears. Looking in the direction the sound had come from hespotted something off in the distance. It was large and brown and there wereother figures racing alongside it.    “There he is!” Nicholas announced.“Remember. Don’t get too close and try and herd him up the hill to the trap.”    Jonathan and another wolf stood up, ready tojoin the hunt.    “Wait for it,” Galina ordered. “Let him getcloser.”    Jonathan could feel the excitement buildingand he was eager to get going! He had a hard time holding still but he tried.Reluctantly he sat back down. Afraid he might spook their prey by revealing hispresence too early.    The riders and their mounts were swarmingaround the creature. Gliding in closer to shoot an arrow or throw a spearbefore moving out and out of reach of those deadly tusks.    It seemed to take forever for the mammoth toget closer. “Was he standing still? Why is he taking so long? Maybe he suspectsanother trap?”    The mammoth was more visible now and he couldsee the horses and elk galloping alongside more clearly. One of the riders hada bow and was shooting arrows at their prey.    “GO!” Galina barked suddenly.    He leapt up and hit the ground running. Allfour legs moving with the power and endurance of the wolf. Jonathan felt heartpumping exhilaration and an adrenalin rush as he raced along in the snow. Hebarely noticed the chest high snow and felt the cold not at all.    The other three wolves were with him.Powerful hunters moving effortlessly as a highly coordinated killing pack. Nowonder his human ancestors were so terrified of wolves.    His world shrunk down to just himself, hispack and their prey. All that mattered was the prey. Catching it, guiding it toits inevitable death. So they could all eat. Survive another day. All movingtogether in a dance as old as life itself. And one not seen since the glaciershad last receded and the world warmed up.    There was the smell of blood in the air and hesaw a score of wounds; big and small on the mammoth. He couldn’t help but barkloudly as he surged along. Leaping over rocks and patches of ice. He saw thefleeing mammoth and instinctively picked up speed and angled closer. Intent oncatching the prey. “CATCH IT! CATCH IT!” He barked.    Running closer he came alongside an elk witha man riding. He was trying to stay in the saddle while trying to shoot hisbow. He could smell the scent of the elk and it’s rider. He could smell theexcitement of both. Jonathan kept his distance from them aware of the fact thatneither was food. In spite of the instincts to chase something that was runningand bite down on one of those tasty looking legs.     The pride raced past the elk intent onlarger prey. “SLOW POKE!” Alisha barked at it.    The elk snorted in response and picked upspeed.    Jonathan gave the elk no more notice. He wasnot food but an ally. The wolf put on more speed getting closer to their preyand barking loudly with excitement.    “Jonathan,” Nicholas warned. “Not too close.The idea is to run him to exhaustion and into the trap.”    He forced himself to pull away from themammoth. He easily kept pace with the huge animal but stayed a respectfuldistance off to one side. Jonathan kept barking, aware that the sound of a fiercepredator so close would frighten the prey.    “The hill is just up ahead,” Alisha barked.“So be careful.”    The wolf in him wanted to speed up and catchit but the human wanted restraint. So the dire wolf slowed down a bit but nottoo much. The ground rose up and running became harder.    Suddenly the ground dropped off and themassive creature tumbled over the edge.    Jonathan skidded as his legs scrambled totry and stop him as he cursed loudly in several languages. His large caninebody came to a halt just short of the edge. The remaining wolves joined him amoment later. The elk and rider came galloping up the hill and stopped. Severalothers quickly joined them. The man hopped off and both joined the rest inpeering over the edge.    The hill seemed to drop straight down to thebottom which looked to be a long way down. At the very bottom the mammoth couldbe seen thrashing about.    “Wow. That’s steeper than I thought!” Theelk commented.    The drone left the top of the hill anddrifted downward.    At the base of the hill the mammoth flailedaround in the dirt, snow and ice.    “Attack it!” someone shouted.    “Where?” One of the lions asked. “It’s liketrying to bite a house!”    One of the hunters charged in. The woman wascarrying a large, thick spear. She ran right up to the struggling mammoth andrammed the spear into the creature’s fur covered side.    The mammoth struggled to get up; smashingthe stakes and ground around him.    The cave bear charged forward, moving fasterthan Jonathan thought possible. He reared up on his hind legs towering overeleven feet high. He flung his massive body against the mammoth knocking itback to the ground. His powerful claws ripped into the mammoth’s flesh easily.    The remaining humans closed in showering thestruggling creature with arrows and spears. A cave lion leapt onto themammoth’s side and sank claws and teeth deep into the heaving flesh beneathhim.    “Time to finish. No need for him to suffer.”Jake said as he slowly walked up to the mammoth. In his hands was a large,modern rifle. He stopped short of the creature as its struggling slowlydiminished. Then judging the moment right he aimed at the creature’s skull.    BAM!    The massive animal jerked once and lay verystill.    Jonathan tilted his head back and let loosewith a long wailing howl. The other wolves crowded close and took up the songof victory. The sounds echoing loudly throughout the woods. Proclaiming thathis pack had succeeded on the hunt. Tonight they would feast!    Paul walked up to the still form and placedboth front paws on it’s side. “We thank you for your sacrifice and may yournext life be better,” he said solemnly.  *********************
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