Little Feather

Chapter 11

I awoke the next morning, sore and tired from what happened last night against a tree, my eyes were swollen from crying so much that I didn't get much sleep. I hid from the settlers a ways away, worried that I might be found and killed. I got up and stretched a bit before making my way back to the now burned ruins of what was once my home. The village in the distance was blackened with smoke and ash and what was once my home, filled with life,love and laughter, was now gone just like that. I slowly made my way to the village, carefully searching for any signs of the settlers still being there, but there was no sign of them. Whatever happened after they attacked the village, they were long gone and miles away by now. The only traces that they were ever here was the footprints from their horses and their boots that surrounded the ashes of the village. As I walked through the village, I could see the blackened remains of the huts mixed with the remains of the bodies of everyone I once knew. A eerie silence fell over me as I tried to take in the sight of a home that I could no longer return to.

I could hear sounds of some huts falling apart as I walked, too burned to hold anything up or some even crumbling to ash as I did so. A slight breeze blew through here, clearing ash and smoke away with it. I could smell the burnt wood or the faint smell of other objects or bodies among the ruins. I stopped walking and just sank to my knees and screamed out in pain before I cried. I cried for a while before wiping my tears away, and getting up. I didn't know that I had tears left after last night but the pain and shock must have been to great to bear and just took me like fish trapped in a bear's mouth during the autumn months. I then decided to see if there was anything worth saving from the ruins that I could bring with me, for I knew i couldn't stay here long and who knows if and when those settlers would return and with more of them.

I looked around in the ashes and piles of rubble, carefully examining each one as I did so, to see if maybe I could find a arrowhead or something similar to use as a weapon or something else that was useful to me. But all I found was ash and burnt huts and the charcoal bodies of the people who once lived here. After my less than desired search, I decided to drink some water and look for some berries I could eat before I set off in into the woods. The woods would have water and food but my only concern right now was how I was going to hunt or even find shelter for the night. I had no weapons or anything to store food or water in case, I got thirsty or hungry on a long journey. For the time being, I went to the woods and found some blackberries to eat. I then took whatever vegetables and other food we had grown nearby and stored them in a nearby hallowed out tree while I got some big branches that fallen off some trees and looked for a spot where I could place them in a way where I could be protected from the elements.

I found a couple of trees that were close enough to where I could place branches in between above my head, and then take some leaves stems to tie them together until I found something more sturdy to hold them up. Once I was done making the shelter, I went back for my food and placed the food a burned tree stump that had a big enough hole in it near the shelter. Now that I had food, I was fine for maybe a few days til I needed to go out and hunt. The trees creaked as wind blew through the branches and I. could hear the birds chirping and on occasion flying around. Bugs moved around on the ground, on the trees and some even flew on occasion.  Next I needed to find a river to for water but in case I couldn't find one, the lake nearby would be a great comfort for me as well. My next problem was where I would store water in. I had no baskets to help bring water back with. I could make a basket out of bark or branches but with nothing to hold anything together, if would be difficult to keep the water from seeping out onto the forest floor. So for now, I decided to drink from the lake nearby until then.

I needed to make a weapon. But should I make a bow and arrow or a spear? A bow and arrows could take a while and I needed to think fast if I was going to survive spring let alone winter later in the year. For now, I decided to make a spear made out of a long tree branch and would use a sharp rock to help sharp one end of it so I could hunt. I knew I would need to make more than one so I started to gather branches that were good for hunting and easy for me to use at a distance. I then went around the forest to see if there were any rocks that were good for sharping until I found one near the lake and brought it back with me. By the time I got back, it was the afternoon and decided to eat some of the food I had stored before I started working on the spear I needed to use for hunting. I took one of the branches and began working on making the first spear I would use.