New
Arrivals
Author-Suzie
Titles
PreHistory
by Suzie
Summary: Not his time--Not his place.
Disclaimer: Some of the characters in this story belong to the UPN Network and Pet Fly Productions as part of the television show The Sentinel. I do not claim these characters as my own. No money has changed hands.
Notes: Or as EagleEye calls it – “Captain Caveman.”
"Toto - I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." -- Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz
######
When Blair first began to come back to awareness he had a sensation of movement. He could his body passing over the ground beneath him, his arms trailing above his head, and something whipping past his face. Blinking to focus as his eyes finally opened, Blair looked up into a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Something brushed against his face and he realized it was tall blades of grass. Lifting his head and feeling a pounding behind his eyes, Blair peered up at--something. An animal? A man? He could only see 'it' from the back. It was walking on two legs, slightly hunched with knees bent a bit. Its body was naked, save for a covering of dark fur. A thick scraggly mop of darker hair, that looked as if it had never seen a comb, had leaves, twigs, and grass buried within. And to make matters worse--or at least stranger, Blair was being unceremoniously dragged along by one leg. Groaning softly, he let himself slide back into darkness.
'It' stopped and turned to look down at his charge. It cocked its head from one side to the other, as if listening for a sound he'd thought he'd heard for the unconscious man. Hearing nothing, it turned, readjusted the grip it had on Blair's ankle, and continued on its way.
If Blair had seen the face that had turned to him at that moment, he would have thought it strangely familiar--in an odd kind of way.
**********
Warm, Blair thought as he began to regain consciousness. He wiggled beneath the heavy covering. Warm--and hard. Smell kicked in and Blair crinkled up his nose, finally opening his eyes. "And smelly," he whispered aloud, wrinkling his nose in distaste.
Groaning softly at his protesting head, Blair slowly sat up and looked around. He was in a cave with a small fire glowing nearby. Looking down he saw that he was lying on a large fur, and there was another covering him. Pulling a corner of the covering up to his face curiously, Blair sniffed--and began gagging and choking. "Oh my God," he whispered and pushed the smelly animal pelt off of his body in disgust. Cool air hit his nude body, making aware of his situation. "What the hell?!" Blair looked around, but saw nothing that looked like his clothes. "I'm sitting in a cave--on rotting animal skins--naked with the mother of all headaches," he said to himself. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't think it can get any worse."
Hearing bare feet slapping the ground in his general direction, Blair looked around frantically for something to cover himself with. Grimacing, he quickly pulled the pelt back to cover his lap.
Out of the semi darkness stepped a--man. He walked upright, but hunched, making him appear shorter than he actually was. He was naked, save for the *fur* that covered his body. The face was definitely human, but wider and there was a low sloping forehead hidden beneath the thick matted hair and the ridges that showed above eyes that were strangely haunting.
"Um--hi there," Blair tried tentatively. A Neanderthal?
The man raised his face slightly and sniffed the air before moving to add wood to the dieing fire. With the fires renewed life came warmth and light and slowly the caveman moved forward to squat several feet in front of Blair. Wide nostrils flared, as if taking in a scent he'd never experienced before, icy blue eyes taking in Blair curiously.
"Blue eyes?" Blair whispered to himself. He squinted into the firelight, wondering how that could be possible, and decided that it *must* be a trick of the light and shadows.
The caveman cocked his head and grunted, obviously not understanding Blair's words. He cautiously moved closer and a large hand reached out, purposefully, but not too quickly.
Blair fought his natural impulse to move away, but didn't feel fearful of the strange man. There was something strangely familiar about the face, especially the eyes that were watching him as intently as Blair watched him.
A thick, large knuckled finger touched Blair's temple and came back with a small smear of blood.
Blair's hand went up and carefully probed the area. "Well, that explains this hellish headache. Do you have any water?"
The caveman blinked, not understanding.
"Um--oh..." Blair cupped his hands and held them to his mouth as if drinking. "Water--drink."
The caveman bobbed his head and stood. He walked across the small cave and returned with a gourd filled with water.
"Thank you," Blair said automatically. He pulled the stopper and took a swallow, but as he began to take another a large hand grasped his wrist.
As Blair lowered the gourd, the caveman shook his head.
“No? No what?”
Not understanding the words, but sensing Blair’s question, the caveman gently guided Blair’s hand back to his mouth. He allowed a small amount of water into Blair’s mouth then nudged the gourd away again. Then he repeated the process.
Blair got the idea and nodded.
The caveman released Blair’s wrist and sat back on his haunches next to him, watching his charge drink his fill slowly and in smaller sips. They never took their eyes off of one another.
Blair finished and replaced the gourd’s stopper before passing it back to him. Setting the gourd aside, the caveman reached out again, this time moving his calloused knuckles over Blair's bare arm.
Blair swallowed nervously, but didn't flinch.
The caveman then touched his own arm and a puzzled look crinkled his face. Reaching out again he touched Blair's chest, feeling both bare skin and the stiff mat of hair that spread between his nipples and continued in a line down his belly.
Blair watched as the caveman touched his own chest, looking at him curiously. "You've never encountered anyone different--have you?" Blair realized, not expecting an answer to his question. He carefully reached out and placed his hand on the caveman's arm, feeling the rather dense, but soft 'fur' that covered his body.
The caveman attempted to move the fur pelt covering Blair away.
Blair grabbed at the fur and pushed the hand away. "I guarantee there aren't any real differences there," he said, blushing as he clutched the pelt to him. "Although you probably already know that since you seem to have taken my clothes."
The caveman stared at Blair for a moment, then tried again.
Again Blair wouldn't let the pelt budge. "No!" he said firmly, shaking his head.
The caveman released the fur, stood and moved across the cave.
Blair sighed with relief. Groaning as the pounding in his head increased for moment, he closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his temples. “I don’t suppose you’d have a couple of aspirin lying around the cave here, would you?” Cracking open one and seeing there was no response forthcoming from his host, Blair said, “I’ll take that as a no.”
A minute later the caveman returned with another fur lined pelt. Strong callused hands pushed Blair down and dropped the animal skin over him.
Blair didn't struggle, but watched as the caveman walked away again. He stirred the fire, threw on a small piece of wood. He then retrieved several pelts to spread out on the opposite side of the fire. Lying down, the caveman pulled a fur over himself. They stared at each other through the flames of the fire for a minute before Blair fell asleep.
**********
When Blair awoke again, he was stiff and sore. Groaning as he pushed himself upright, Blair looked around and realized that he’d apparently not been dreaming. Damn, what the *hell* is going on?! Standing carefully, he tied one of the fur pelts around his waist and began looking for his clothes.
Blair found that there was little in the cave to see as he wandered slowly about. Several piles of furs in different points of--fermentation. Gourds and animal bladders apparently used for holding and carrying water.
Blair’s interest was drawn to a longbow and a skin quiver of perfectly formed wooden arrows. Each appeared identical in length and thickness, and each had been fitted with sharp stone tips held in place with strips of leather.
“He had to have done the measuring by eye,” Blair whispered aloud, holding two of the arrows for inspection. “They even seem to weigh the same.” He let the arrows drop back into the quiver, feeling the smooth texture as they slid through his hand.
Several thick wooden spears of various lengths leaned against the wall. Each was well used and worn smooth, with stone tips obviously fashioned for that weapon specifically. There was a well used stone axe with a wooden handle fastened to it with a leather strap.
“Who would have thought a Neanderthal could have the ability to be so precise,” Blair said to himself, pulling the pelt around his waist a little higher.
All in all everything appeared to be in ‘order’. Blair’s eyes roamed over the interior of the cave. From the careful piles of fur pelts, and the way the water to the spears lined up by height, to the fire pit that seemed to be in the very center of the cave’s room. There was fresh fir and pine needles strewn about, in what Blair could only think of as an apparent attempt to ‘deodorize’ the cave’s rather stagnant air.
“Who would have thought a Neanderthal could be so--anal retentive?” Blair said with a quiet snort.
Unexpectedly, a hand clamped down on his bare shoulder and Blair yelped, spinning around so quickly that he lost his balance and sat down hard on the ground. “Don’t do that!” he cried, looking up at the caveman. “Are you trying to scare the life out of me?!”
The caveman went around behind Blair and hooked his hands under Blair’s arms. With a grunt, he pulled Blair to his feet and steadied him until a head-rush passed.
“Thanks,” Blair said, lightly rubbing the sore spot at his temple. “Would you happen to know where my clothes are?”
The caveman cocked his head and stared at Blair curiously. Then he gave a shrug and motioned with his hands that Blair should follow.
Curiosity overrode any other feelings that might have held Blair back and followed the caveman.
**********
At first the bright sunlight blinded Blair and sent sharp pain through his skull. He squinted and shaded his eyes until his eyes adjusted after the relative darkness of the cave. Looking out over the scenery below, Blair gasped at the vastness of the sight.
The cave was situated on an outcropping in a cliff. Below them were endless plains of lush green grasses and an occasional stand of tall trees. Herds of animals roamed freely, grazing contentedly in the midmorning warmth. A soft breeze blew up from the plains below and Blair inhaled the scent of fresh air and grass. Above the cave’s entrance, at the top of the cliff, he could see pine and fir trees towering into the blue sky, gently rocking in the treetop wind.
“Wow!” Blair breathed in awe. “This is definitely not Cascade.”
A grunt caught his attention and he turned to see the caveman motion to him again. Blair moved over to join the caveman at a firepit where several small fowl were roasting on a spit over the flames. Berries and pine nuts sat in small wooden bowls that had obviously been painstakingly carved. The caveman carefully slid one of the cooked birds into another bowl and handed it to Blair.
Blair took the bowl and lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the ground. His host set a bowl of the berries and nuts next to Blair, then moved away to serve himself and sit on the opposite side of the fire.
Blair wasn’t sure what he eating. It was about the size of a game hen, but didn’t taste like chicken. “This is really good,” he said to the caveman across from him.
The caveman stared at Blair and continued eating.
Blair thought for a moment, then rubbed his stomach and made a “mmmmm” sound.
The caveman gave a toothy grin and nodded.
Blair sighed. “I wish I knew how to speak to you. I’d really like to know how the heck I got here--wherever *here* is--and how I can get home.” He tore another bit of meat off the bird. “There are so many questions I should be asking--like why a Neanderthal has blue eyes--but I don’t even know if you’re real. How do I know this isn’t some sort of hallucination?” Blair winced as a spike of pain flared through his head. “After all, I apparently whacked my head. I don’t remember anything that was happening before waking up in your humble abode there.”
The caveman looked up at Blair again, seeming curious about the words he didn’t understand.
Blair marveled at the icy blue eyes with their spark of intelligence--and an odd familiarity. “Are you real? Where are your people? Possibly you’re an outcast--or maybe you’ve chosen to be alone? Why do I feel that I should know you?”
“Alm,” the caveman said in a rough voice.
Blair blinked in surprise. “What?”
The caveman patted himself on the chest. “Alm.”
“Alm,” Blair repeated.
The caveman nodded, then pointed a Blair.
“Oh! Alm--that’s your name--cool,” Blair said with realization. He touched his own chest and said, “Blair.”
Alm crinkled his heavy brow and tried to form the word with his mouth. “Bair.”
“Bl-air,” Blair pronounced slowly.
“B-air.”
Blair smiled and nodded. “Close enough.”
Alm grinned with satisfaction.
**********
Time passed with no great rush and Blair forgot his questions about how he came to be in the past. He forgot about getting back home. He stopped worrying about his clothes and became content to wear a soft leather loincloth tied around his waist. They learned to communicate by using sign language and Alm picked up small amount of Blair's speech.
Blair followed Alm on the daily hunt and contributed whenever possible by gathering nuts, berries, or filling the water containers. There were also the *border checks*, as Blair called it, where he would walk with Alm, following the same path each time every other day. It didn’t take Blair long to figure out that Alm was checking the borders of his territory, using extraordinary senses to catalog every sight and smell, and knowing instinctively when something didn’t belong.
Blair found that Alm's senses were stronger more enhanced than the other Neanderthals they'd met. Alm could see, hear, smell, and taste things that no one else could. Something in Blair told him that this was normal for this individual and he should know why, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Again it was something familiar. After a time, he shrugged off the feeling and forgot about it entirely.
There were times when they did meet other Neanderthals on their forays out onto the plains or up into the hills behind the cave. Blair decided that Alm was a loner by choice and seemed to be respected and feared by those who lived within his borders. Blair, on the other hand, was obviously frowned upon as an outsider and was threatened on more than one occasion when he was beyond Alm’s sight. Somehow, Alm always knew when there was trouble and would was always there to protect him.
Blair’s head continued to ache, though, even after the cut on his temple had healed. It was a constant dull throb with an occasional stabbing pain that would jolt through his entire skull. He knew that something was wrong. Even with a concussion the headaches should be lessening as the days passed, not sending him to his knees with blinding pain.
Alm watched his friend carefully, seeming to know almost before Blair did when the worst of the headaches were about to hit. He would hoist Blair into strong arms and carry him into the cave where he would lay Blair on furs and stay with him until the pain receded enough to let Blair sleep.
**********
Blair lost track of time. The days past in blurs of blinding headaches, as they were coming with greater frequency. He would lie on his bed of fur pelts and toss restlessly for hours as the pain stabbed relentlessly through his skull, sleeping only when exhaustion claimed him.
Alm spent the majority of his time sitting with Blair, coaxing him to sip water or broth, gently running thick fingers through his long hair in attempts to sooth him. Worry clouding the blue eyes that watched him both day and night.
Guilt would force Blair to try to move. He knew that Alm was not leaving the cave to do his usual border checks, and he was not hunting for more than an hour or so a day. Blair knew that he was keeping Alm from his routine, which was important to the Neanderthal. Certain things were done on certain days at certain times. There had been order in his life--until Blair. But despite the chaos he was obviously causing, Alm insisted on staying with Blair.
A face had begun to come to Blair in his dreams. A face he recognized as he tossed and groaned, clutching the fur beneath him as the pain stabbed through his head even in sleep. He knew he needed to go to the person that face belonged to.
**********
Blair shifted restlessly on the bed, groaning softly. Jim laid a cool soothing hand on his friend’s warm forehead, carefully avoiding the bandage on his temple.
“Jim,” Blair barely whispered.
Sentinel hearing picked up the sighing breath that was his name. “Right here, buddy.” Jim’s hand lightly brushed through Blair’s hair. “I’m right here.”
“I wish you’d wake up, Chief,” Jim whispered worriedly as his friend’s movements quieted again. “The doctor keeps telling me you will--but it’s been three days now and you’re beginning to worry me.”
After several minutes, Jim decided it was time to stretch and get some coffee. So, after reassuring himself that Blair was comfortable, he left the hospital room, turning his sense of hearing up as he walked quickly down the hallway.
**********
Blair lay under a mound of fur, shivering and groaning at the stabbing pains coursing through his head. A hand pressed gently against his forehead and he whispered, “Jim.”
“Right here, buddy.”
Blair opened blurry eyes, searching for the familiar voice, but finding the shaggy face of his Neanderthal friend.
“I’m right here.”
Strange, Blair thought as he watched Alm’s mouth form words. When did he start speaking english?
The voice continued from Alm’s mouth as his hand brushed through his hair. “…The doctor keeps telling me you will--but it’s been three days now and you’re beginning to worry me.”
“I’m dying, Alm,” Blair said in a hoarse voice between the nearly constant pain. “I don’t know how long I’ve been here--This isn't my home…”
Alm looked at Blair with sad eyes and brushed his knuckles over one cheek.
“I guess this just isn’t my time,” Blair whispered, managing a wane smile. “You’ve been a good friend.”
Alm continued to sit at Blair’s side for a time, watching him, touching his forehead or arm. Then he suddenly stood and walked out of the cave.
“Alm, don’t leave me,” Blair groaned. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Alm strode out of the cave without a backward glance.
“Please, Alm--don’t leave. I don’t want to die alone.” Blair struggled to sit up. "Alm…"
**********
"Don’t leave!!" Blair screamed, sitting upright in bed. "I don’t want to die alone!"
Jim nearly broke the door down getting into the room. "Sandburg?!" He quickly sat on the bed and placed a hand on one shaking shoulder and pushing the hair out of Blair’s face with the other. "It's all right, Chief." Jim took in his friend's wild-eyed look. "Are you with me here, Blair?"
Blair shifted his eyes and looked at Jim. "You didn't leave?"
"Of course not. I was just down the hall getting some coffee," Jim said. "I'm glad to see you awake…" He lightly rubbed his hands up and down Blair's arms, and smiling slightly. "But, Jesus, next time just push the call button--okay?”
“Sorry.”
“No reason to be. Why don't you settle back and relax."
Blair laid back and took and calming breath as he looked around the room. "Where are we, Jim?"
"Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. You were airlifted here from Blaine after the accident. They didn't have the facilities to check for an extensive head injury when you didn't wake up."
"Accident?" Blair reached up and touched the bandage on his head and winced, realizing it hurt. "Head injury?"
"Blair… what's the last thing you remember?" Jim asked curiously.
Blair frowned, trying to concentrate through the pounding in his head. "I was on a bus…" he began. "A field expedition with my class."
"Anything else?"
Blair thought for a moment then shook his head slowly. "No--we were headed for a dig site up near Vancouver." He looked up at Jim with a mix of confusion and fear. "What the hell happened?"
"You never made it to Vancouver, Chief. You never even made it to the border," Jim explained quietly. "There was an accident outside of Blaine. The bus rolled…"
Blair's eyes widened and he started to sit up. "OhmyGod! My students…"
"They're all okay," Jim replied quickly, gently forcing Blair back down. "There were no serious injuries among the kids. I checked this morning and they’ve all been released from the hospital in Blaine."
Blair relaxed at those words, then asked, "But there were injuries? What caused the accident?"
"A broken arm. A couple of mild concussions, scrapes, bruises. One of the kids said that you had stood up in the aisle when the accident occurred," Jim explained. "I was told the bus was hit head on. The bus driver died at the scene. There were two other vehicles involved and one other person died. The State Patrol is investigating."
Blair ran shaky hands over his face and closed his eyes. "I don't remember anything--none of it." His voice sounded tired and he was beginning to fade. "Just that I wasn't *here* anymore and I was dying."
Jim's eyebrows rose. "You've been right here in the hospital for three days, Chief--unconscious." He gently placed a hand on Blair's chest, feeling his heart rate and breathing slow as he relaxed. "You weren’t dying--you were dreaming."
Eyes still closed Blair yawned and snuggled down under the blanket. "No, Jim, it wasn't a dream--it was a place--but I didn’t belong there--wasn’t my time." He placed one hand over Jim's and whispered as he slipped into sleep, "But I’m back now, Jim.”
“Where you belong," Jim whispered, lightly patting the hand that covered his.
<>~~<>~~<>
end