Fire!

by Tom Beall

Carefully he looked around, trying desperately to detect any danger near the shelter he had found when the disaster happened.  The small, dry cave in the pile of rocks had saved him from a painful death when the fire came from the sky and caused all of the trees around him and his tribe to burst into flames.  He didn’t know what caused the lightning, but he knew that fire could kill him or hurt him very badly. He peered cautiously through the blackened, smoking limbs, sniffing the air, listening carefully for anything that would alert him to escape or continue to hide.  His view of what had once been a green and growing woodland, was now a scene of death and destruction.  Where once there had been meadow and forest, now there was only blackened devastation.  Dark, smoking tree skeletons waved their angry arms at a darkened sky.  The ground was covered with ash, and a thin veil of smoke like the mist from a swamp, drifted low to the ground, possibly harboring unspeakable horrors. 

When the lightening had stuck, catching the forest on fire, he immediately had to find shelter or die from the massive conflagration that erupted.  As he dove into the small cave next to where he was standing, his last memory of his tribe was seeing them run for their lives, and listening to screams of pain that faded to silence.  The fire had passed quickly, leaving behind the ruin he could now see in the light of dawn.  Soon after the fire had passed, his presence in the cave had been detected by a badly frightened cave lion who had tried to dislodge with his claws so that the lion could enter.  His sharpened spear had saved him though as he desperately thrust it again and again at the snarling visage before him. The lion had left, but he hadn’t dared come out of his shelter until he could be sure it was safe.

He was ravenously hungry, cold, and alone.  He had eventually slept fitfully. Now, he crept slowly out of his shelter, vigilant, and silent, spear held ready before him.  Carefully he straightened up, moving in small steps to avoid the more rapid movement that animals detect so easily.  An experienced hunter of many large and powerful animals, he had learned the life-preserving benefits of caution. 

His tribe had been moving toward a new hunting area, bringing with them all of their belongings, and in this area totally new to them, had been surprised by the disaster.  Now he could see that he was completely alone.  Quietly he moved forward, gradually standing fully upright.  Although he didn’t know it, standing fully erect was only a recent accomplishment of his species.  Even so, there were urges to stoop over and shuffle along, although this was increasingly uncomfortable.

He knew he must find his tribe.  Moving forward he scanned the ground looking for any signs that anyone had passed through but found only the scars of flame, dark stones, and smoking debris.  He was cautiously optimistic because he could see no blackened forms of his people where they might have been overcome by the raging inferno.  He was cold.  The temperature had dropped during the night, so far that the water in a small stream had turned hard.  He broke through the hard water and drank.  This at least would hold his hunger at bay for a while.  He was accustomed to being hungry though, so he pushed the discomfort away from his thoughts, and continued in the direction his tribe was headed the day before.

His people had always avoided fire.  Its capacity to hurt and kill had always been a reason to shun it.  Now, cold and alone, he noticed the warmth radiated from the still smoldering tree trunks and heavy brush.  Gradually he found himself moving ever closer to the warmth, finding that if he was careful and didn’t touch it, the fire generated a warmth that pushed the chill from his body.   Surprisingly he found himself thinking how he might use this to keep himself, and perhaps his people, warm at night.  He noticed a small branch on the ground. The tips of the branches were still burning, and with great fear, he nevertheless steeled his nerves to pick the branch up from the opposite end, hoping it wasn't hot.  It wasn’t and he found himself holding the terrible fire, but it was now he who was in control!  What a feeling of power this gave him! 

Experimentally he touched the burning end of the branch to some unburned twigs nearby.  He grunted in satisfaction as the twigs caught fire.  He pulled his branch away and the twigs continued to burn.  Laying down his branch, he cautiously tossed some more twigs onto the small fire, and they were soon ablaze.  He hunkered down near his tiny fire and held his hands out to the warmth.  For the first time ever, someone had tamed fire!

Warm now, he moved on, leaving the smoldering branch and fire behind him.  Ahead, but still some distance away, he could see the craggy slopes of the mountain range that had been their destination.  They had hoped to find a large, dry cave to move into and make their home.  Now his hope was that his people had made it to safety.  His slow walk changed to a distance-eating lope, one he had used countless times to wear out their prey animals.  Running an animal until it was exhausted, then moving in for the kill was something he and the other hunters were very good at.  Running consumes energy though, and soon his hunger returned with a vengeance. Ignoring it, he continued on.

The fire had chased the animals from the forest as it had consumed all within its path that couldn’t outrun it.  Moving in its wake, he could see the charred remains of many small animals that had not escaped.  His fear of finding his people this way was lessening as he continued on his way.  Suddenly, his heart leapt to his throat as he caught sight of a much larger charred body in his path.  Slowing his pace, he gradually came to a halt, realizing that this was not one of his people, but the remains of one of the hoofed, horned animals that they frequently killed for food.  As hungry as he was, he and his people had never eaten animals that were already dead.  They consumed only what they killed. 

Reluctantly though, he realized that the animal was freshly killed, only in a different manner.  About half of the carcass had been burned away, but it looked as though there was a fair amount of meat left at the rear end that was not burned away.  Looking about, he spied a rock, and using a piece of animal horn he carried with him, he chipped away at the rock until he had a crude, but serviceable edge.  Using this, he hacked away at the carcass until he had a piece in his hands.  Even though it was not fresh-killed-warm, and not nearly as bloody as his usual fare, he was hungry enough to cautiously bite into the steaming mass. 

It was nearly hot enough to burn his lips, and was still only warm in the middle, but the flavor was something altogether new to him.  He recognized the odor of smoke from around him, realizing that it was also in the meat.  The meat itself was firmer than usual, and full of hot juice that ran down his chin as he ravenously consumed the entire piece he’d cut from the carcass.  This, he thought, was much better-tasting than from a fresh kill. Cutting off the remainder of the salvageable portion of the carcass, he threw it over his shoulder and continued on his way.

Soon he found the trail his people had left as they worked their way into the foothills looking for a suitable cave.  Within just a few hours, he found the entrance to a large cave, and ducked inside to find his people there, cold, wet, very hungry.  They looked at him in surprise since they all had thought that he had been killed in the fire.  Quickly he dropped the remains of the carcass from his shoulder onto the cave floor, much to their horror.  They looked at it suspiciously because they could see that it was partly burned, and so although ravenous, they began to move away, such was their fear of fire.  As he watched them, he cut a small piece from the still warm quarter, and slowly ate it, smacking his lips in relish.  Then he cut another small portion and held it out to a child who had crept closer.  The little girl took the piece very shyly, sniffed, and then stuffed it into her mouth, chewing noisily.  Soon she begged for more, and this urged other children forward to try this new food. The adults could see that no harm was coming from the children so they too moved slowly closer, taking their share as he cut them from the carcass. 

Looking around him at the smiling, smudged, tired faces, he realized that they were enjoying this meat beyond what their hunger dictated.  He could tell that the fire had done something wonderful for a change, and although he didn’t know what, he knew they all wanted more.

Late the following day the hunters were entering the cave after returning from a long, exhausting hunt with bloody haunches of meat over their shoulders.  In the near distance they could see him as he trotted near them with dry wood under one arm, and a dreaded flaming branch in his other hand.  They nervously wondered what Weber was going to do next.

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