The shrieking did not stop.
Grub watched through the small hole in his bush disguise as the lizard in the clearing continued screaming frantically at the others around it. The creature's entire body moved with nervous energy. It hopped in place, its tail lashing violently behind it as it pointed again and again toward the forest. Its voice cracked with panic.
Even though Grub still could not understand the language, the meaning was obvious. Something had terrified it. The soldiers around it did not react the same way.
Several of them looked confused. One of them scratched the side of its jaw with a claw while another gave a long annoyed sigh and spoke back in what sounded like an irritated tone. A third lizard waved a dismissive hand as if telling the frightened one to calm down.
But the terrified one refused to calm down. It continued pointing and jumping around blowing its top off. Its voice grew louder with every sentence as it tried desperately to explain whatever it had seen.
Grub leaned forward slightly inside the bush suit, pressing the hollow twig listening tube closer to his ear so he would not miss anything. The terrified lizard shouted again, its voice rising into a sharp pitch. Something about that final sentence must have convinced them.
The soldiers looked at each other. One of them sighed again. Another gave a short nod. Then they began moving, following the terrified lizard as it hurried back toward the forest.
Grub blinked. He had absolutely no idea what was happening. But he was curious. Very curious. So the bush stood up and slowly and carefully began to walk. And that walking bush began following them very closely.
Grub moved slowly through the forest behind the group, placing each step carefully so the branches tied around his body would not rustle too loudly. Whenever one of the lizards glanced back toward the trees he immediately froze, pretending to be nothing more than an unusually shaped clump of vegetation.
This cycle repeated itself over and over. Several times his heart nearly stopped when one of them looked directly toward him. But none of them noticed the walking bush.
As they continued moving through the forest, Grub began noticing their direction. His stomach slowly tightened. They were heading toward the cave.
No—Not exactly the cave.
They were heading toward the area below the waterfall. Grub felt a slow, creeping dread crawl up his spine.
That bear looking creature. The dead body. He had left the corpse drifting in the underground river after the fall. Had the current carried it outside? Had it washed up somewhere? The terrified lizard suddenly stopped ahead of them. It pointed again.
This time the others followed its claw. Grub leaned sideways inside the bush so he could see past the leaves. And there it was. The massive corpse of the bear-like monster lay sprawled along the rocky riverbank where the current had finally carried it. The creature looked even larger now that it was lying motionless. Its thick limbs sprawled awkwardly across the stones while the cracked bone mask still clung to its face. One horn had snapped completely off during the fall.
For a moment the lizards simply stared. Then everything erupted. They rushed forward all at once.
Some approached cautiously while others circled the corpse with clear hesitation. One of them tapped the creature's leg with the end of its spear while another crouched beside the broken mask to examine the cracks in the bone.
Their voices filled the forest. Each one spoke with shock, fear and awe
The terrified lizard continued jumping around them while shouting excitedly and pointing at the corpse again and again as if demanding the others understand what it had discovered. Grub stayed perfectly still inside his bush.
Shit.
He had definitely done something. The soldiers examined every part of the corpse. One of them lifted the creature's massive paw and studied the claws while another ran its hand along the thick fur as if confirming the creature was truly dead. They spoke quickly among themselves.
Grub could not understand the words, but he could see their expressions clearly enough. The terrified one was still panicking. The others seemed confused. And maybe a little skeptical. Eventually the soldiers exchanged a few looks. Then two of them nodded. The group suddenly began working together. They moved to different sides of the creature and crouched beside it. Grub watched in disbelief as several of them grabbed hold of the enormous corpse and heaved it upward.
It took almost the entire group to lift it. The monster was unbelievably heavy. But eventually they managed to raise it onto their shoulders. With strained grunts they began carrying the body back toward the settlement.
Grub stared after them. What had he done? What did that bear mean to them? He had no idea. But he followed them anyway.
***
Grub took off his bush and climbed into the trees once they returned to the settlement. From the branches above the clearing he watched as the soldiers carried the massive corpse into the center of the camp. The moment the others saw what they were carrying, the entire atmosphere of the settlement changed. Voices rose in awe. More soldiers gathered around, their faces filled with confusion and wonder. Then torches were lit.
The terrified lizard began shouting proudly now, pointing toward the corpse as if taking credit for discovering it. Grub frowned as he watched. Something strange was happening. Then he realized what it was. They were celebrating.
The lizards began parading the creature's head through the camp like a trophy. Several of them danced wildly while others shouted and clapped their claws together in excitement.
Eventually they dragged the corpse toward a large fire pit near the center of the settlement. And then they set it on fire. The flames spread across the creature's fur while the lizards cheered loudly around it. Grub's eyes widened.
This was monumental. Seeing a celebration could reveal countless things about their culture.
He quickly climbed down from the tree and rushed back to grab his bush disguise. Within minutes the walking bush returned to its observation spot near the edge of the clearing. Grub opened his notebook immediately.
The celebration became a goldmine of information. Drinks were passed around constantly. Bowls filled with fruits and insects moved between groups of soldiers while conversations erupted everywhere.
Grub wrote down everything he could hear. At one point a wooden cup of liquid was passed between two soldiers near the edge of the clearing. During the chaos of dancing and shouting, the drink was accidentally knocked over and rolled across the dirt.
It stopped right beside the bushes. Right beside Grub. He froze. The soldiers were too busy celebrating to notice. Slowly—very slowly—Grub reached out from inside the bush and grabbed the cup. He sniffed the liquid then carefully took a sip. The drink burned slightly as it slid down his throat.
It was alcohol. Definitely alcohol. Grub quickly wrote that down.
Likely translation of references to this drink: alcohol.
He placed the cup beside him so he could examine it later and continued watching. Another strange event soon caught his attention.
One of the lizards had stepped closer to the fire pit. Unlike the others, this one did not seem afraid of the flames at all. Instead it raised its claws toward the fire and when it neared them the flames began to move.
Grub leaned forward inside the bush.
The fire twisted and bent as the lizard gestured dramatically with its hands. The flames stretched upward in tall spirals before collapsing again as if responding to the creature's movements. It looked almost like the fire itself was obeying the lizard.
Grub began writing rapidly.
Fire manipulation?
Possibly an ability?
Could it be a species trait?
Or is it a cheap magic trick?
He listed every possible explanation he could think of.
Other than the strange event the celebration continued for hours. There was music, dancing and drinking. Several seemingly drunk lizards got into arguments as well. The corner was filled with loud and happy conversations.
Grub recorded everything. Page after page filled with notes. At one point he found himself staring briefly at the burning corpse of the bear creature. He felt a small pang of guilt. What had the thing done to deserve being paraded around and burned like that?
But the thought didn't last long. There was too much information happening around him. By the time the fires burned low and the soldiers began returning to their huts, Grub's notebook was filled with valuable observations. Eventually he slipped away from the clearing and returned to his shelter in the forest.
As he lay down on his bed of woven roots, exhaustion finally began pulling at his eyelids. The lizards might have been celebrating the death of the bear. But Grub had something to celebrate too. Tonight had pushed him farther toward understanding them than he had ever been before. He closed his eyes and prepared for sleep.