Sorrel stood and stretched. Their backpacks were against the wall of the hut, but the PlAK was gone. We’re at the mercy of the Tribals now, she thought. They were more than capable of throwing them both into the river, or a sinkhole, as Emrallie had threatened, or simply chasing them away to stumble around in the forest. She reached for one of the algaskins and drained the contents. She was ravenous.

She walked out of the hut and saw many young females of different ages carrying out various tasks, some sitting in the circle of stones she had seen earlier, others on stools in front of their shelters, bent over containers. No one met her eyes. She remembered the rodent and her mouth watered.

“We thought you would sleep through the night as well,” Emrallie said from behind her.

“Where’s the PlAK?”

“The Zorah has it. Time you met her now. Wake your mother.”

“She’s really tired.”

Emrallie looked irritated. “Of course she is.”

“Can we at least wash first?” she said.

“Yes. I’ll wait for you here. Don’t forget to take water with you.”

Sorrel and Bibi went to the clearing with the trenches, where they saw other women and girls pouring water for baths and wielding shovels. No one looked at them or said anything. They were probably waiting on the Zorah’s decision too. Bibi walked a short distance away to a trench no one was using.

The Tribal females were mostly teenagers and very young adults. The big female from the cave was the only one with long hair; everyone else’s – a variety of textures and colours – was cropped to chin length. Their body hair was not shaved. Their limbs were muscular. They wore a mishmash of clothing – pants, skirts, shorts, long dresses, sleeveless tops, floaty blouses – the same gauzy material Emrallie wore, and they stripped down to the skin without embarrassment, hanging their clothes on the trees and bushes. Their skins were shades of brown and red. Some had limbs made darker by the sun and she could see tan lines at their wrist and neck. Others were obviously more careful about exposure to the sun and were one, smooth colour. She thought they would normally have been speaking with each other, laughing perhaps, but it was clear that their presence silenced them. These females live or die together, she thought. How had they found each other? Where were their families?

Her belly pain had stopped. She used the last of the leaves and wondered where they could be gathered. Bibi came back looking much cleaner and stronger. Together, they returned to Emrallie’s hut, where she was waiting.