There was once a caveman named Grok who was all alone and couldn’t find his group of cavemans. Now he is all alone by myself trying to survive while wandering around in the wild during the Paleolithic Era. All Grok is trying to do is survive in the vast wilderness by himself and to try and find his group again. Will he survive and find his group or will he die starving?
He woke up in the morning, stretched his arms, and got ready for his daily hunt for wild cattle. However, today felt a bit different. Grok stood up and looked around to see that his tribe was nowhere to be seen. He grabbed his tools as his stomach grumbled.
“Ugg? DEt Bu CAwre SaFt?” (Hello? Where did everyone go?) asked Grok. “AbOk fRevUtNo WaFopA?” (Is anyone there?) questioned Grok. No answers were in the air as the wind blew through the sunrise. Grok went out and tried to look for them but there was no sign of anything. Not even a footstep. Grok got worried but still determined as he went on his daily hunt for wild cattles.
Grok walked 8 miles of this African grassland. He then stabbed the wild cattles and brought it back to his cave but still no one was in sight. He wondered if he should find where everyone has gone.
He struggled to start a fire to cook the wild cattles but eventually lit a fire. He cooked up the wild cattle and smelt this really delicious meat. Grok ate it for lunch and dinner. He got ready for bed and thought of many reasons why his tribe mysteriously died. He thought of reasons such as if they all got eaten up by a mysterious animal. He took one last look outside and still seemed to be all alone on this vast grassland.
The next day Grok went out searching out some of the areas his tribe could’ve gone. He went in circles everywhere but still no human in sight. He was going to give up. So, he just thought of surviving in the wilderness without them. He had to work hard, he thought as he hunted pigs.
Grok spent the following days learning the ways of the wilderness. His hands, once clumsy with the tools of his tribe, became more skilled as he adapted to his solitary existence. He made better spears, built sturdier shelters, and learned the signs of the animals around him. However, each evening when the fire crackled in his cave, a cold, lonely feeling of depression was felt at his chest. He missed the sound of his tribe's laughter and their songs. The silence of the vast grasslands felt heavier each day.
One morning, while Grok was out foraging for berries and roots, he stumbled upon something unusual. A strange stone, unlike any he had ever seen, lay half-buried in the earth. It was smooth and shiny, with intricate carvings that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. Grok examined it curiously. They seemed familiar, but he couldn't place why. He tucked the stone into his pouch he made out of leather with his mind spinning with thoughts of his missing tribe. Could this stone be a sign? Had they left it behind?
That evening, Grok sat by the fire, the stone resting on a flat rock. He studied the carvings again and again, trying to understand the meaning of it. Then, the rock moved just a centimeter to the left. Then, more and more until it cracked. As he gazed at it, he saw some movement in the distance at the corner of his eye. A shadow sped across the fading horizon. It seemed to be quite big, larger than an animal that he realized. Grok’s heart raced. Was it another human? Could it be someone from his tribe, or someone else entirely? Was this even an animal?
Without thinking about it, he grabbed his weapon and ran towards the shadow. He moved briskly through the tall grass as he moved closer and closer towards the shadow. His heart was pounding through his chest and his mind was racing with questions with no answers. The shadow moved again, and Grok quickened his pace. As he drew closer, he saw the figure more clearly. It looked to be a tall, dark sort of configuration that he hadn’t seen before. The creature stopped suddenly, and Grok froze. He did not know if he should approach it or retreat from it.
For a long moment, there was silence. Then, the figure stepped forward into the moonlight. Grok's eyes widened. It was a person, but not like anyone he had ever seen. This was a tall, muscular figure, dressed in animal skins and adorned with strange markings. The stranger’s eyes glowed with a sharp and rhombus shaped eye.
"FrEdsA drEsPil WoPAfa” (You are alone) the figure said. "DEt abOk FrAdsE dreftA?” (Where is your tribe?)
Grok was speechless. "erT.. erT peRdaW HeNosTadN” (I... I don't know)," he stammered. "WaFoPO DesaWrUt. Fotir. erT WoolOolOo Grok. AwS drEsPil FrEdsA? (They disappeared. Gone. I am Grok. Who are you?)”
The stranger stepped a tiny bit closer, studying Grok with his circular shaped eyes. He went in circles around him for a long time. "erT WoolOolOo Ka’rok (I am Ka'rok)," he said. "You have lost much, but there is more to your journey. The mysterious stone you found is not a simple object—it holds the key to something greater and something better than before."(FrEdsA ThUrDig DesaWrUt, TRid WaFopA abOk WeAsrE GorEdA TrEdUt. LoTtE GoUtsWa tRof FrEdsA TrugH AbOk FeSAd WasRe–tHruOp GrOnT WeAsrE GeaRtS ReATs CaSteW GeaRtS TeaDs LoKeDaW SatRa.) He kept walking in circles.
Grok stared at Ka'rok, confusion and curiosity warring inside him. "What... what do you mean?" (MadTe… MadTe WadRep FrEdsA TrEfS?)
Ka'rok looked towards the mysterious stone in Grok's pouch. "That stone is not from your world, Grok. It comes from the Old Ones who once walked the earth long before your tribe. The disappearance of your people was no coincidence. You must follow the path this mysterious stone leads. Your tribe’s fate, and perhaps all of humanity, all depends on you." (ThAseW tRof abOk WeAsrE VarTeWo FrAdsE GuRt, Grok. tHruOp StaEd VarTeWo LoTtE WaRdES SaTro TerDsA LaSeW AwS Earth GeRts SatRa FraDsE dreftA. LoTtE GoUtsWa SaW FraDsE dreftA LapO peRdaW DaWsQu. FrEdsA RatSeD WaDsA GuTo LoTtE RaFtEw TaFrE GoUtsWa tRof FerD. FrAdsE dreftA’s WaWa, CaSteW DeAwS FaRquE SaW reWaT, FaRquE PolK JoiT FrEdsA.)
Grok’s mind raced. He had always been a Paleolithic man who was focused on the basics of surviving. He would hunt, gather, and create a shelter. But now, he realized his journey had become far more complex. It was no longer just about finding his tribe. It was about something greater. A mystery that reached across time and space, to the very origins of his world.
With a door opened with determination, Grok looked at Ka'rok and said, "What must I do to complete my quest?" (MadTe RatSeD erT CaSa GorEdA DuTrE FrEdsA KoPlaM?)
Ka'rok smiled, a faint glint of wisdom in his eyes. "The path will be long, but this will lead to your tribe. But, you must first learn how to go to the Old Ones." (LoTtE RaFtEw SagTE StroGaW, TRid maKo TaFrE SagTE GarDe FerD CaSa FraDsE dreftA. TRid FrEdsA RatSeD TefRa NawstU EdaW CaSa TawStE CaSa LoTtE WaRdES.)
And so, Grok’s journey took a new turn. He was no longer an alone survivor in the wilderness. He would now be guided by Ka'rok and the mysterious stone that held the answers to a greater mystery.
What will happen next in Grok’s Journey?
To Be Continued…