The First Jumper (first draft version)

The First Jumper 17: The Wolf God

The wolves spread out, snarling, but they were not wasting time.  They had fought humans before, and knew their best strategy was to run in and attack before the humans could prepare.

They would never have dared attack the entire tribe, unless they had a good advantage of numbers.  They knew how dangerous humans could be.  But two humans, neither of whom carried a spear, had no chance of defending themselves against six wolves.  The wolves rushed in, full speed.

Little Bear first lifted up his hands toward the nearest wolf, as he had toward the rabbit.  But he was still tired from that encounter, and the wolf was far more vital a creature.  Not only that, its attitude, unlike the rabbit, was not directed towards fear and getting away.  It was coming to kill, and could not so quickly be dissuaded.

That was only one wolf.  Even if he could do it, there were five more, and both he and Willow would be dead, before he could possibly stop even one.

He still stepped in front of Willow, holding his hands up.  As he did, he realized he had something in his hand.  He did not know how much charge it had left, for it needed frequent recharging from the ship, and it had been lying here for more than a month.

No time to think about it further.  He aimed the suppressor at the left-hand wolf, depressed the plate all the way, and swung it to the right, until it covered all the wolves.

The left-hand wolf was nearly upon them, already gathering for its final leap.  But as it gathered its legs under it, the legs gave way, and it fell in a heap at Little Bear's feet.

The remaining five wolves fell similarly, until the area just in front of Little Bear contained the bodies of five dire wolves and one rabbit.

The rabbit also had fallen, for the suppressor beam was wide enough to catch it, too.

Willow peered out from behind Little Bear's shoulder, with saucer eyes.  She saw the dead dire wolves, and the rabbit, dead at Little Bear's feet.

She came around Little Bear and knelt in front of the rabbit.  "It fought for us."

Little Bear blinked in surprise, and looked down at her.  "What?" he said.

"The rabbit god.  After it blessed you, it came back to fight for you."  She got to her feet, holding the limp body of the rabbit.  "What should we do with it?"

Little Bear looked down at the wolves, then up at the rabbit.  Then he looked down at the suppressor in his hand.  It was completely discharged.

He turned to look at the ship, and sighed.  It was locked, and he wouldn't be able to get back into it, without a chromosome scan, which he was now unable to provide.

He tossed the suppressor to the base of where the ramp would be, and turned to look back at the wolves.

They would wake up in a few minutes.  When they did, if the rabbit was still here, the first thing they would do is make a meal of it.  That just didn't feel right to him.

On the other hand, he didn't want to be standing here when they woke up, either.

"Bring him," he said, turning away.

Willow followed awkwardly, carrying the large, unconscious rabbit.

On the far side of the ship, they were met by Cave Bear, Raccoon, and Tiger.  All were coming at a run, carrying spears.

"We heard you scream," Raccoon told Willow.

Willow rapidly explained what happened.  Tiger ran around the far side of the ship with Cave Bear, as Raccoon looked gravely at his son, but said nothing.

Then he looked at the rabbit.

"I thought you were bringing food," Raccoon said, "but that thing is still alive, isn't it?"

"I think so," said Little Bear.

“It isn’t a thing,” said Willow, “It’s a god.”

A sharp, squealing bark came from the other side of the ship, followed by another, then four more.  A moment later, Cave Bear and Tiger came around the ship, their spears bloody.

They caught up with the others about halfway to the river.

"The rest are across the river," said Cave Bear.  "Is that the same rabbit?"

"It is," said Willow.  "It killed the dire wolves."

"They weren't dead," said Tiger, "but they are now."

"The rabbit did that?" said Cave Bear, uneasily.

“Yes,” said Willow.  “It blessed Little Bear, then came back to fight for him.  It killed the dire wolves, as if they were struck down from the sky.”

“I told you,” said Tiger, “They weren’t dead.”

“I think it’s a god,” said Willow.

Cave Bear just looked uncomfortable.  He looked over at Raccoon, who shrugged.

“My friend, I have to tell you, I just don’t know,” said Raccoon.

“Can I eat the rabbit?” said Tiger.

“Come on,” said Cave Bear impatiently.

As they moved together toward the river, where most of the tribe had crossed, Little Bear held his silence.  He still wasn’t sure what it all meant.

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