Under the Fence

11: Calls and Falls

Cam

Day 6

Today was the first morning in six days that I woke up full.

My eyes fluttered open to the sounds of birds chirping and the river flowing. I decided to name the river Twig River in honor of me surviving so far.

I decided that today would be the day that I walked back home. I would just walk up the river and come out at the park. I mean, being out here was great but I'm sure my parents and Tara are worried sick.

I decided to have a big salad for breakfast.

Before eating breakfast, I reached into my backpack and grabbed my iPhone. I placed it on my big flat rock. Then, I grabbed a big heavy rock and carried it over to my phone. Three, two one! I dropped the rock on my phone. Next, I scraped the remains into the river and watched my broken phone disappear.

It had been time for an upgrade for years. I'll just tell my parents that I lost it or something.

I then put together my breakfast. I caught a fish, filleted it, collected leaves, collected berries, made tea, and filled my water bottle.

I heard birds chirping at me, as if they were asking me for food.

Too too ti too ta!

"No." I said sternly to the birds.

Too too ti too ta!

"Too too ti too ta!" I whistled. The brown birds moved closer to me, fluttering from one tree to the next.

Too too ti too ta!

I looked up and saw that one of them was eating berries off of a tree.

'What if I climbed the tree, picked some berries, and fed them to the birds?'

Too too ti too ta!

I slowly walked over to the tree making sure not to scare any birds away. I gripped the tree trunk and pulled myself up. I rested my foot on a piece of bark that oddly stuck out of the tree. I did the same thing for a few feet until I reached the first and lowest branch.

I picked handfuls of berries and threw them on the ground. The birds immediately all flew to the berries I had thrown and ate them all in a few seconds. I kept throwing them down in handfuls until the birds got bored and flew away.

I decided that I wanted to take a few handfuls down to the ground for tomorrow or invade the birds came back at anytime. I needed to climb higher to reach more berries because I had used them all up around the area I was sitting at.

I grabbed handfuls in both hands and steadied myself with my elbows. One of my feet slipped and I cried out.

I tried to pull myself up with my elbows but they both slipped off of the bark.

"AHHHH!" I shrieked as I fell.

Of course, my right foot landed on a rock that peeked out of the ground. I heard a crack as I hit the ground.

My leg felt like it had been put through a woodchipper. I moaned in pain and tried to stand up.

As soon as I put any weight on my right side, my legs gave out, feeling like jelly. I scooched on the forest floor over to the river. I dipped my legs in and realized that the current is pretty strong here. I'm not surprised that I was pulled all of the way out here.

I grabbed my ankle to move the bone back in place. I yanked on my leg and screamed so loud that birds flew away, I'm sure Tara could even hear if.

********

I worked on trying to create a cast the entire day.

I ended up getting sticks and putting them all around my ankle and foot for protection. Then, to keep them in place I used thin vines and wrapped them around my ankle. Not perfect, but pretty darn good for having nothing.

Great. Now I guess I would just sit around. Whenever Tara broke a bone she had to keep on the cast for a long time. Probably around a month at a time.

How would I get food?

What will I do?

Tara would know...

Even though I tried not to think about Tara, she motivated me to keep going and not give up.

The thing that kept me alive could also kill me at any moment.

Too too ti too ta!

I heard the brown birds again asking me for food. I decided to try to repeat the 5 note tune.

"Too too ti too ta!" I whistled.

One daring bird swooped down an rested on my shoulder. It sang to me and called other birds over to me.

A few more birds rested on my shoulders. I stretched out my arms and more perched on me. Then, I released the berries that I still had in my hands. The birds squabbled over ever berry until they were all gone.

I couldn't climb the tree to get more, but I could stand at the base and shake the branches. I slowly stood up and hobbled over to the tree. Then, I shook the branches as purple berries rained down on me and the birds.

"Ha ha!" I giggled watching the birds devour the berries.

I did this until the sun started to set and I hopped over to the river where I had sort of set up camp.

I munched on a few blueberries until my eyes closed.

But, before I could even fall asleep I was disturbed by a rustling noise coming from behind me somewhere in the woods. I moved closer to the river. I heard a growling noise. Now I was creeped out. I heard more movement and decided that I wanted to sleep somewhere else tonight.

As if on cue, rain started pouring.

I couldn't see much, but I hopped into the river and floated for a few minutes in the warm water. Then, I hopped out at a small clearing.

The rain made it hard to see, but I was able to lie down and fall asleep.

********

I woke up to the sound of rustling in the trees behind me. I bit my lip, scared of what creature could be lurking behind me in the shadows of the trees. Suddenly, lights came from above. The sounds of a helicopter engulfed the whole woods. I saw in the light that a family of opossums was hanging from a tree.

"Awww!" I said and extended my arm to pet one. The momma opossum swatted at my hand leaving a scratch.

Wait, is that helicopter looking for me?

I waved my arms in the air but the light had moved on. I tried to chase it but it was too fast. I ran and chased it until my legs gave out. I cried and cried and cried until I realized that there was no point in doing it. And just like that, I was out like a light.