Helix and the Arrival Read online

  Three nights pass and Ug’s father gets weaker and weaker. He’s not taking water and is unable to stomach food. The bleeding has stopped, but the wound on his side is becoming more and more red and swollen and now has a green tinge to it.

  Krike is still in Rockfall but makes it clear to everyone (except Korg and Speel) that he would rather be back home in his stinky cave. Regardless, he is filling Rockfall with enough loincloth wind and stomach gas to send the mountain floating up into the heavens.

  Speel has given me the job of being Krike’s helper while he’s here. This means doing whatever Krike asks, including:

  making sure he has the right number of skins to sleep on (‘I like my skin pile not too soft and not too hard, boy.’)

  bringing him food cooked by Korg’s helpers (‘Is that all? Do I look like a cavekid? Where is my suup?’)

  delivering the same message over and over to Korg (‘Tell Korg the Magnificent that I have done everything in my power and it is up to the heavens now …’).

  Since placing the purple and green stones on either side of Ugthorn’s head (which, surprisingly, didn’t work), Krike has given Ugthorn a different medicine to take each day.

  To make things more official, Krike has insisted on having a prescriplet produced for each new medicine he prescribes to Ugthorn. Each prescriplet is carved by one of the stonehacks onto a small tablet. Today’s reads:

  Apart from the medicine being pressed against the wound, Krike has paid no attention to the wound itself. He believes that the sickness lies in Ugthorn’s blood.

  I’m standing next to Krike as he gives Ugthorn his third dose of medicine.

  ‘Is it working?’ Edla asks.

  ‘There are signs that he is beginning to heal,’ Krike says. ‘Still, it is up to the heavens now.’

  I can’t see any signs of healing, myself. It doesn’t take a medicine man to see that Ugthorn’s side is glowing and swollen and causing him discomfort, even in his unconscious state.

  Krike leaves the cave and I follow him. Outside, he goes to take a swig of suup from his drink bladder and reacts with shock when he finds the bladder empty. The shock causes an eruption of noise from underneath his loincloth. I instinctively put my arm across my face.

  ‘Boy! What’s your name again?’

  ‘Helix,’ I say. I’ve only told him seventeen times.

  ‘Go back to my cave and fetch me more suup.’

  ‘Do I have to?’ I say, remembering what a festering stink-pile his cave was.

  ‘Boy!’

  ‘Okay, okay,’ I say. I screw my nose and mouth up into a sour ball, let out a huff of angry air, then turn to start the long journey to Krike’s cave.

  ‘Wait!’ Krike calls. ‘Before you go, take this to one of those idiot stonehacks to make into a prescriplet. It’s for tomorrow’s medicine.’

  I snatch the writing skin from his hand and go straight to Speel’s cave. I pluck the bandi-twang and Speel calls me to enter.

  ‘You,’ he says, when he sees it’s me.

  ‘Another prescriplet,’ I say.

  ‘Give it to one of the stonehacks.’

  I walk over to the closest stonehack, Crag I think it is, and pass him the skin.

  Crag reaches out with his giant paw and takes it. He looks at what’s written and smiles.

  ‘Useless,’ he mutters.

  ‘What’s useless?’

  Crag looks up at me as if he’s shocked I’m still standing there. ‘This medicine is useless.’

  At last! Someone other than me thinks Krike is a fake! ‘How do you know?’ I say.

  The lines on Crag’s forehead grow thicker. ‘I know,’ he says, holding up a hand that’s red and swollen and wrapped in a vine leaf.

  ‘What medicine should he have then?’ I whisper. ‘Tell me, please.’

  ‘Steckman –’

  ‘Helix!’ snaps Speel. ‘Do not disturb my stonehacks. They have important work to do. Leave now.’

  Crag has his head back down again and is chipping away at a tablet. What was he going to say about Steckman?

  I leave Speel’s cave and begin my walk around the mountain.

  I turn my thoughts away from fetching Krike’s suup and think about what Crag had started to tell me. Why did Crag mention Steckman when we were talking about medicine? Was it something to do with Crag’s bandaged hand?

  And then I remember. Steckman said he gets medicine for himself from the lowlands. He probably gets it for Crag, too. What if there is medicine in the lowlands that could help Ugthorn?

  That’s it! I need to find Steckman.

  I’m full of energy at the thought of helping Ugthorn, but my mood quickly sinks as I remember where Steckman said he was heading last time I saw him: the Dark Side.

  I can’t go there. Why would a caveboy from Rockfall venture to the Dark Side? It would be completely mad, as dangerous as jumping in the river.

  But I think about it again. Krike’s medicine clearly isn’t helping … This is something I need to do. For Ugthorn. For Ug.

  Okay. Krike’s cave is along the Common Way in the direction of the Dark Side, so I’m heading towards there anyway … If I continue to the Dark Side I could visit Steckman, ask him for help and, if I somehow manage to get out of there alive, return to collect Krike’s suup and be back in Rockfall by dark …

  I’m going to give it a try.

  I pass Krike’s cave, block my nose, and keep walking. As I get nearer to the Dark Side, the Common Way starts to turn and take me around towards the back of the mountain. There’s no direct sunlight anymore – the sun-facing side, where Rockfall lies, blocks it. But although the sun is blocked, the view isn’t.

  In front of me, leading away from the mountain, Land’s End stretches far away into the distance, much further than it seems from Rockfall. The river below winds in and out of hidden valleys, and snow-capped peaks dot the mountain line. The view is huge, too much for me to take in without panning from one side to the other. If it weren’t for it being so close to the Dark Side, Dad could start up a torism business here.

  Suddenly, I stop walking and hold my breath. Up ahead are two cavemen and they look to be from the Dark Side. The short one has a club and the tall one a spear. Are they going to attack?

  They begin stalking towards me, an intruder in their lands. Their eyes are cold and laced with anger. The tall one has a hunched back and is also very thin. He’s carrying a spear that is much too short for him. The short one is unnaturally short – shorter than me, though thickset and with a nose that’s spread across his face like a squashed fist. I have a sudden urge to run, an animal instinct to save myself. But I stay still. I take two or three deep breaths.

  They stop an arm’s length away from me. The tall one stares down at me and the short one looks up. I’m trapped in their gaze.

  The short one leans forward so that I can hear him breathing through his squashed nose. Something is building up inside him. Slowly, he lifts the club he is holding off the ground, squeezes his grip around it, then opens his mouth and says, ‘Boo!’

  I jump and fall backwards onto the ground.

  Both of the men crumple in laughter, their hands on their bellies. They’re barely able to stand.

  Are they crazy? ‘What’s so f-f-funny?’ I demand, as strongly as my stuttering lips will let me. I get to my feet and dust myself off, watching them from the corner of my eye.

  ‘He thought we were going to eat him!’ says the short one to the tall one. ‘Because that’s what us Dark Side folk do … Hahahaha!’ He has to lean on his club to keep himself standing, and the tall one is even more hunched in laughter than his normal hunched self.

  ‘Stop it!’ I say. ‘I’m from Rockfall –’

  ‘We would never have guessed,’ says the small one. ‘Have you come for the skintax?’

  Their laughter disappears quickly now. They look at me with angry, hard-edged faces once more.

  ‘No,’ I say, my throat tightening. ‘I’ve got nothing to d
o with the skintax.’

  ‘That’s good,’ says the small one, ‘because we’re not going to pay. Why should we?’ he challenges me.

  ‘You’re right. I agree with you. It’s not fair that you should have to pay more than Rockfall and Newstone.’

  I think they like my answer, because the anger disappears from their faces.

  I look at them again with different eyes now. Sure, they’re a little weird looking, but I don’t think they’re anything to be scared of. At least, not in the way that Speel would have everyone believe.

  ‘I’m Helix,’ I say, jerkily lifting my hand into the air and giving them a little wave.

  There’s a moment of silence, then the short one says, ‘I’m Rex and this is Del – he doesn’t speak, just laughs and grunts a lot.’

  Del stretches his face, revealing a bent-tooth smile.

  ‘I’m travelling to the Dark Side to find a man named Steckman. Do you know him?’

  ‘Steckman? Of course we know him. He’s the best cave-to-cave salesman on the mountain.’

  ‘I need to see him,’ I say.

  ‘Why come to the Dark Side to see Steckman? Aren’t you lot meant to be scared of us? You could have just waited until he next visited Rockfall,’ says Rex.

  ‘It’s kind of an emergency.’

  Rex thinks it over. He looks up at Del and Del shrugs his shoulders and then taps his chest lightly.

  ‘He was leaving for the lowlands today, but was still in a guest cave when we left. You might just catch him if you hurry,’ says Rex.

  ‘I’d better go then,’ I say. ‘Nice to meet you both and thanks for your help.’

  As I walk past the odd couple, Rex takes hold of my arm and says, ‘If anyone challenges you, tell them that you spoke to Rex.’

  ‘Okay. Thanks, Rex,’ I say.

  ‘Oh, and one more thing … If a girl with white hair offers you a meatcake, politely refuse.’

  ‘Why?’ I say.

  ‘Just do,’ says Rex, and with those last words of advice, he disappears with Del down through the woods below the trail.

  It’s not long before I reach the Dark Side caves. They’re not as uniform as the caves in Rockfall and Newstone, but apart from that, they look just like regular caves to me. There are small caves, big enough for one or two people, and larger caverns that could hold two or three families. The caves are all on different levels, going up five levels high. Well-worn paths zigzag up along the cliff face leading to each of the caves.

  No one greets me and there is a sense of quiet all over. But slowly, one by one, folk appear at the entrance of their caves as if word has spread of a new arrival, of a caveboy from Rockfall who has lost his mind and braved the Common Way to face the Dark Side. They peer out suspiciously.

  An older woman is the first to step out of her cave and approach me.

  ‘What do you want?’ she says.

  It’s not a very welcoming first question. Even more so because the old woman and I are standing nose to nose and she’s eyeballing me like I’ve done something wrong. We’re about the same height. I see she’s got more facial hair than me.

  ‘I said, “what do you want”?’ she repeats.

  Wow! Her breath smells like something has died in her mouth and forgotten to tell her. ‘I’m looking for Steckman,’ I say.

  ‘Eggban? Who is this Eggban? I’ve never heard of such a person,’ she says, scratching her head in confusion.

  ‘No, I said “Steckman”.’

  ‘Legtan?’ she says. ‘First you want Eggban and now Legtan – make up your mind, boy.’

  ‘Steck-man,’ I say, louder and slower.

  She points to her ear, to indicate that she’s having trouble hearing.

  ‘Steck-man!’ I’m practically yelling now.

  ‘No Rockcan here.’ She gives her head another scratch.

  I turn around in a full circle in despair. ‘Do you know Rex?’ I say.

  ‘Rex? Of course I know Rex,’ she says, slapping her chest. ‘He’s not here – gone hunting with Del.’

  ‘I know. I just saw them along the trail. They said that Steckman might still be here.’

  ‘Steckman? You want to see Steckman? Why didn’t you say so?’

  I just smile at her.

  She looks up high towards the cliff face and screeches, ‘Steckman!’ towards one of the higher caves.

  There’s no answer.

  The folk in the other caves have ventured further outside now and are taking a keen interest in me and my quest to find Steckman.

  The old woman walks to the entrance of her own cave and screams, ‘Spud!’

  Spud, who I assume is her son, emerges from the cave. His hair is covering his eyes and he looks like he’s just been woken up from a yearlong sleep. Needless to say, he isn’t smiling.

  Spud and his mother walk over to where I’m standing and both look up at the cave where Steckman is supposed to be. It’s now I notice that one of Spud’s shoulders is normal-sized and the other is huge, as if there’s a boulder trapped beneath his skin. The big shoulder is much higher than the smaller one, making Spud look like someone has tilted his world.

  ‘Wake him up,’ says the old woman to Spud.

  ‘I don’t mind going up there myself,’ I say.

  ‘It’ll be quicker if Spud fetches him,’ she answers, her hearing perfectly fine now.

  Spud searches the ground and then spots what he’s looking for: a rock. He weighs it in his hand, turns it over a few times until he’s happy with his grip, then launches it into the air towards Steckman’s cave.

  Even with his boulder shoulder, I wouldn’t have believed he – or anyone – could throw a rock that high and far, but Spud is a specialist. He’s a master rock chucker.

  The first rock hits the outer part of the cave entrance. But Spud is persistent. He throws another, then another, then another, until he sends one through into the back of the cave.

  ‘Ow!’ comes a voice from deep inside, and a moment later Steckman appears, rubbing his knee. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Steckman, it’s me, Helix,’ I say.

  A delighted squeal comes from deep in the cave and Porgo appears at the entrance. She does a four-legged swamp-boar dance on the spot. I think she’s trying to impress me.

  ‘Helix?’ Steckman looks puzzled. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I need to talk to you.’

  ‘I’ll come down,’ he says, and he limps his way down the narrow zigzagging paths to where I’m waiting.

  Porgo follows, and I hear Steckman having to explain on more than one occasion to hopeful Dark Side residents that Porgo is not a snack.

  We find a quiet place away from the caves to sit. Every now and then, Dark Side folk amble past, wanting to get a glimpse of the stranger from Rockfall, as well as the tasty-looking swamp boar.

  Most of the Dark Side folk have something about their appearance that stands out. They are special in themselves, but in the eyes of Rockfall they would be considered not-quite-right, which is probably why they’ve been cast here. But none of them scares me, which is at odds with everything I’ve ever been told about this place.

  ‘These views …’ I say, looking out into the great beyond.

  ‘Yes, the Dark Side’s little secret,’ he says. ‘It’s the finest view from the mountain. It’s a shame that folk from Rockfall and Newstone will never get to see it for themselves.’

  Porgo has decided to sit by propping her bristly backside against my leg. She looks up into my eyes and blinks once as if to check that I don’t mind. I pat her on the head and she twitches her nose.

  ‘Now speak to me, Helix. You must have a very good reason for venturing to such a scary, forbidden place.’ Steckman chuckles under his breath.

  ‘It’s Ugthorn. You know of him, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I do. Big man. Fine hunter. Well respected.’

  ‘He’s been hurt – badly hurt – by a sabre-tooth.’

  ‘When did this happen?’


  I think back. ‘It happened on the day I last saw you. You were coming from Rockfall. You must have just missed it.’

  ‘That was a good few days ago. You say he’s still alive?’ says Steckman, sounding surprised.

  ‘Yes, but only just. He sleeps with a fever and groans in pain from time to time.’

  Porgo has slumped down onto the ground and fallen asleep. She’s still resting up against my leg, and her bristly side is giving me the twin sensations of tickling and scraping as her chest rises and falls with each breath.

  ‘What’s being done for him?’ asks Steckman.

  ‘Korg called for Krike, the medicine man.’

  Steckman nods slowly. ‘And?’

  ‘At first he used rocks –’

  Steckman interrupts me. ‘Let me guess: one on each side of his head, each a different colour?’

  ‘How did you know?’

  ‘It’s an old “cure”. Been around since the mountain was a boy. Hasn’t worked for just as long. What did he do next?’

  ‘Since then, he’s been mixing medicine from his own ingredients. He places the medicine into the intestine of a mountain vole, ties the intestine at both ends and then pushes it into Ugthorn’s wound.’

  Steckman doesn’t look very impressed. ‘And what of the wound?’

  ‘It isn’t getting better. It looks to be turning green.’

  ‘The wound should be cleaned and a poultice applied to it.’ Steckman speaks these words without hesitation.

  ‘Can you help?’ I ask.

  He nearly falls off his rock. ‘Me? Help? I’m a cave-to-cave salesman, Helix, not a medicine man. Do you know what would happen to me if I was caught practising medicine without permission?’

  ‘No,’ I say.

  ‘I’d be banished from the mountain, Helix! And that would mean the end of my livelihood here. So I think you’ll understand, for this reason alone, I cannot help you.’

  ‘But Steckman,’ I say, ‘I know you give medicine to Crag for his hand.’

  Steckman’s body stiffens. ‘He should not have told you. That was meant to be our secret. Wait till I see him …’