Helix and the Arrival by Damean Posner Page B

big ceremony?’
    â€˜We’ll set a date soon,’ says Mum. ‘Probably after your Arrival, Helix.’
    â€˜I’m going for a walk,’ I say.
    No reply. Mum and Dad have turned their attention back to Sherwin, the only son of theirs who will ever become a proper caveman. I slink out, happy to escape the celebration.
    I decide to head for the Ledge, where I can place Rockfall underneath me, out of my sight. As I make my way through Rockfall, though, I hear a scream coming from Korg’s cave. Saleeka explodes from the entrance, crying. Her parents are following but, before long, they give up the chase and let her go.
    I continue to the Ledge, pretty sure she’s headed there too.
    Sure enough, when I arrive, Saleeka’s sitting there, staring out beyond. Her eyes are hollow. She’s stopped crying, but her tears have formed salt lines down her cheeks. Then I see something that alarms me.
    She’s holding a flint blade in one hand and rubbing her thumb over the sharp edge, daring it to slice her.
    I lower myself slowly and sit down beside her, trying not to focus on the blade.
    â€˜Did you know?’ she asks.
    â€˜Know what?’
    She turns and faces me. ‘Helix, do not play games with me. Not now.’
    â€˜Saleeka, I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I say.
    She opens her mouth a couple of times but the words won’t come out. On the third try she says, ‘They’re making me marry your brother.’
    â€˜Oh no. It’s you.’
    She moves the flint knife towards her neck.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ I say. ‘Don’t –’
    But before I can stop her, she begins cutting. The flint makes a scraping sound as it slices through her matted hair.

    â€˜I don’t think that’s going to be a great look,’ I say.
    She keeps cutting. Thick, tangled locks of hair fall onto the Ledge and below. The people of Rockfall must be wondering why it’s raining hair from the heavens. No doubt Speel will find a reason for it in his tablets.
    Saleeka stops cutting when there’s no hair left to grab. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much of her face. It’s pale and soft, and she looks more like a young cavegirl than she did before. Too young to be married, if you ask me.
    â€˜It’s not fair,’ she blubbers. Tears seem to be coming from everywhere, now – her eyes, nose and mouth. ‘I don’t want to get married yet. And I want to choose.’
    â€˜What if you say no? You said no to that Nobak guy last time.’
    â€˜This time it’s different. The marriage has been arranged by Korg and that stupid Speel.’
    â€˜What’s Speel got to do with it?’ I say.
    â€˜He went through the family-tree tablets to find the best match. Apparently our family lines haven’t crossed for at least three generations, which is supposedly good.’
    â€˜But you can still say no, can’t you?’
    â€˜Yes, I can say no. But if I do, they will send me to the Dark Side. And if I get sent to the Dark Side, my family will feel they need to follow me, and I don’t want them to make that choice.’
    â€˜So you’re going to marry him … It’s so wrong,’ I say.
    â€˜Everything about this place is wrong,’ says Saleeka. She wipes the tears from her face and heaves in a long sniff. We stare out blankly into the distance beyond the lowlands, where the farlands fall away to Land’s End.
    â€˜You know what this means?’ I say.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜You’ll have to eat my mother’s food.’
    â€˜Shut up, Helix. Nothing about this is funny.’ She pulls out a skinkerchief and blows her nose.
    â€˜Sorry. You’re right.’
    We are both tired of words, so we sit and stare into the distance. Even though the world looks far less complicated with Rockfall below us, I can’t help but think that my two best friends, Ug and