Tribe

I've never been known as a patient man. I was sick of waiting for an answer and I grew irritated. I quickly packed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. Without looking back, I walked out of my home and out of my village. I wasn't sure if I would ever see my people again, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me. I needed to find out what exactly had fallen from the sky.

The people of my tribe believed that it was a star that had fallen out of the heavens. But they haven't studied the stars as I have. They don't understand that the stars are not just twinkling lights in the sky that can come loose and move from their place. But without exploring the fallen object, no one could offer a better explanation. And this is where the tribe finds its biggest problem.

Everything that happens has to be discussed in a meeting of the Council of Elders. The old men in the village have to come to a decision. What is best for the tribe?

Don't get me wrong, I respect our tribe's elders. But their committee just takes too much time. Three days had already passed. I did not want to risk another tribe finding the "star" and claiming it for their own. I wanted to find it and I wanted to study it.

I decided to follow the advice of my uncle B'Lairo. When I was a kid he told me, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." At the time I think he just enjoyed watching me get into trouble. But those words certainly applied to my current situation. If this is a trip that I survive, it's possible I'll return to the village a hero. Of course, it's also possible that I'll be ostracized for disobeying the Council. But it's not as if they explicitly told me not to go.

I walked all night and found the site of the fallen "star" just after dawn. I was completely unprepared for what I saw.

It came as no surprise that there was no star lying in a crater. What did surprise me was the sight of strange people walking around. These weren't people from a neighboring village. These were people that I wasn't sure I could actually call people.

Their skin was smooth and strange color. They didn't have the scales that were typical of our race. Their faces were oddly shaped. If I wasn't mistaken, it looked as if their nostrils were just above their mouths, rather than above their eyes. The longer I watched, the more I got confused by these creatures.

From what I observed, they were responsible for the fallen "star," or whatever it was. It was larger than any of our buildings, and they kept walking in and out of it, carrying boxes. I could tell that they were speaking to one another, but their language was strange to me. And then I noticed that one of them saw me.

Quickly, I attempted to hide, but I knew it was too late. I could hear the footfalls of several of these creatures coming my way. I was scared and suddenly wished that I had waited for the Council's decision.

Soon I was faced with three of the strangers. They were yelling at me and I tried to calmly explain that I couldn't understand them. They just kept yelling. One of them brandished a strange looking stick. I could only assume it was a weapon of some kind. I put my hands in front of me, hoping they understood that I meant them no harm.

This action on my part did nothing to calm them down. They grabbed my wrists and pulled me up and forced me to walk toward the rest of their tribe. One of them shouted something and I saw another come toward me with a length of rope. They planned to tie me up, as if I was a threat to them.

They carried me into the inside of their "star" and threw me into a small, dark room. After tying me up, one of them said something before slamming a door shut, leaving me alone. I couldn't be sure how long they would hold me hostage. I could only hope that the rest of my tribe would eventually decide to come and find me.

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