The Chronicles of Amon book 1 LINK

  Chapter 2.

  Life went on as usual for a time. He moved with the family when the supply of fresh fruit was used up. He foraged, built his nests as necessary, played with the youngsters, socialized with the others, maintaining his proper position within the group. He kept his usual respectful distance from the alpha, keeping his eyes averted in order to avoid confrontation. Still his apprehension remained, concealed just below the surface.

  He had, for the most part, deliberately suppressed his new self-awareness. His mind was as yet incapable of reconciling its existence since there was no practical need for it to assert itself. Yet it remained. Gradually he began to realize that this new sense wasn’t harming him. As his assurance grew, so also did his willingness to allow it to come to the surface of his consciousness. Fear and confusion gradually gave way to an uneasy curiosity.

  Days, and then weeks went by uneventfully. He became accustomed to living with this new feeling. Still, fearing that he might be noticed and singled out by the others, he kept his secret hidden.

  As he grew and matured, newly developed hormones coursed through his body. Again and again he watched as new challengers vied for the lead position in the family. Always the routine repeated itself. The challengers would thrash about creating havoc, swinging from low-hanging branches, tossing objects randomly about and screaming their defiance. The alpha had always responded in kind. And, owing to his superior size, strength, and experience, he had continued to prevail.

  Within his maturing body, the young male’s sex drive vied for dominance over instinctual fear and self-preservation. Each time a new male came forth to challenge the leader; the young male found himself becoming more and more agitated, and less able to restrain himself. But he also had become much more observant, paying increasing attention to details that had hitherto gone un-noticed.

  Once, during one of these confrontations, he had given way to the excitement and had grabbed onto a small sapling and yanked it, accidentally hitting himself in the head. Though he had done so before, this time had been different. The pain he had felt, he recognized he had inflicted upon himself. Just to be sure, he repeated the action, and again felt the pain. In that instant a profound awareness struck him. He knew that if he could deliberately inflict pain on himself, he could also do the same to others.

  And so he did just that. He swung the sapling around and swatted one of his brothers. The other male screamed in pain and surprise and backed away, but didn’t retaliate. Gaining confidence, the young male ripped the plant from the ground and swatted another of the group. Again the result was the same. No retaliation. In surprised confusion and bewilderment, he dropped the sapling, and then turned his attention back to the fight.

  However, his actions did not go un-noticed by the alpha male. Always aware of potential threats to his position, the alpha had become aware and agitated by these strange and unusual behaviors. His agitation manifested itself more frequently, at the expense of others within the family. The tranquillity and harmony usually enjoyed within the family now was replaced by a growing unease. Even the infants, who before had freely frolicked and played, had grown more subdued, staying close to their mothers for protection.

  As days gave way to weeks and then months, the young male grew into full physical and sexual maturity. His attention focused more and more on the females, his need to procreate ever growing in intensity. His relationships with the other males also deteriorated as he and they competed for the attentions of the females.

  As his new self-awareness continued to assert itself, so also his confidence and understanding grew. He began to recognize that he was now somehow different from the others. This uniqueness became more evident as, on occasion he attempted to demonstrate his skills to others. They responded with confused indifference, as though they didn’t comprehend what they had just witnessed. More frequently they shied away fearfully, leaving him increasingly alone and alienated.

  Finally the time came when he realized that his place within the family would have to change. He knew his relationships within the group would continue to deteriorate, and that the alpha male would eventually drive him out. He knew he needed to make a decision . . . to leave the family and take his chances alone; or to challenge the alpha for leadership.

  As the days went by, he managed to slip away from the family frequently. He would work his way to the outer perimeter of the group. Then, when no one was looking he would duck behind cover and silently work his way out of earshot. Then, when he felt secure in his seclusion, he began experimenting. He’d select a stick from the underbrush and begin swinging it about, deliberately swatting at various objects. After a few minutes of this he became winded. His body was not yet accustomed to this new exercise.

  Discarding the stick, he sought relief from the hot sun under a bush. Recovering in the shade, he thought back to those many times when the alpha had been challenged. He recalled with increasing clarity how these challenges for leadership developed.

  Invariably the new challenger would make his presence known from well outside the perimeter of the group. He would rustle about nervously at first, drawing the attention of various individuals, but most particularly that of the alpha. Cautiously the stranger would advance closer and closer, thrashing about, screaming his challenge, all the while building his courage. The alpha would respond in kind, but would initially hold his ground. Tension would grow exponentially until it seemed that the whole group would explode into chaos. Only then, when noise and confusion were almost unbearable, the challenger would charge.

  The alpha would hold his position until the last moment. Then finally he would charge forward, screaming his rage. The two would crash together, arms and fists clubbing, teeth flashing and tearing, as the others looked on in cacophonous excitement. The battle would be furious and extremely violent, but would end quickly. The challenger would retreat into the jungle wounded or severely maimed.

  Sometimes the challenger would not survive long enough to escape. When this happened, the family would descend on his mangled body, ripping and tearing it apart. As the alpha screamed his victory, others would approach, heads and eyes lowered, once again demonstrating subservience to their all-powerful leader, offering up bloodied and broken body parts of the vanquished foe.

  It became apparent to the young male that the alpha prevailed mainly due to years of experience coupled with his large size and his ability to use extreme violence in close combat. Still in his prime, he would likely continue to prevail until infirmity or some unforeseen situation overcame him.

  Extreme violence had always been employed. So it was considered to be a given in any scenario the young adolescent considered. It gradually became apparent that to be successful in overthrowing alpha, certain other conditions would have to be employed, i.e. larger size, more experience, or the strength of youth. The young adolescent reasoned (!) that he possessed none of these attributes. Given his situation, it was almost certain he would fail to overpower his opponent. Unwilling to risk injury, he realized he needed to develop another plan.

  Early on he recognized that a stick of moderate size could be used as a weapon with reasonable success. Small ones broke too easily, while larger heavier ones were too cumbersome to wield effectively. Having witnessed many battles between the alpha male and various challengers, he knew that using a stick would have to be very precise. The first swing would have to be successful. There wouldn’t be time or room for a second swing in close combat. The weapon would then be useless and the risk of injury and defeat would go up exponentially.

  Though he had become more proficient in wielding sticks, he somehow knew that he needed to employ some additional method to ensure success. Casting about in quiet desperation in those times when he was able to slip away from the group, he began searching for some other strategy. And, eventually he found it.