Kora-
Last night sucked. After walking around in the forest all day I couldn't find anything useful. No water, no food, no shelter. In the end I had to climb a big low hanging tree to sleep in and hope not to fall out of it while I slept.
Good news? I didn't fall and crack my head open, or snap my neck, or break my leg… Bad news? I still have nothing and my entire body was sore as hell and stiff from sleeping in the tree. If you could even call it sleep.
Throughout the night I could hear the different calls of animals all around me in the forest. Some were just straight, constant and annoying, others a bit terrifying. It's like the entire planet seems to come to life during the night.
I know dangerous things lurk in the forest. I heard plenty of them during the night. Now I know that shelter and weapons are going to be needed more than ever if I want to survive.
Scanning the surrounding area before I climbed down from the tree I didn't notice anything immediately life threatening. As I landed on the ground on my feet I nearly jumped in my skin at the sound of thunder.
Looking to the sky, sure enough clouds loomed overhead threatening me with a cold shower of rain. "just great…"
Slinging my satchel over my shoulder I started walking in search of something more than trees and bushes.
As hours of walking passed I felt my stomach protest its displeasure for the lack of sustenance. At this point I was just straight fed up with the simple fact I've not found anything, no food no water and so far the only animals I've seen are the stupid lizards in the trees who have been chittering for hours on end!
I covered my ears groaning at the annoying sound. "Will you all just shit up!" grabbing a stick off the ground I turned around and threw it at the small critters in the trees above.
To my surprise I actually hit one and it screeched before falling out of the tree onto the ground. I didn't actually mean to hurt them! It squirmed on its back in the dirt screeching and trying to get back to its feet. I stepped over to maybe possibly help it but then all the other lizards started screeching and flapping their little wings at me.
"I didn't mean to!" I started backing away as swarms of them started climbing down the trees or glided down to land all around me. Alone these tiny little creatures aren't all that terrifying but seeing a huge angry swarm of them? Yeah no fuck that.
They started hissing and before I knew it three were jumping on me and started biting me. "ow! Get off me!" I smacked one off my shoulder and flung off another on my arm. Their mouths were small so it wasn't excruciatingly painful but they still hurt! I grabbed the one off my back and threw it away from me only to have several more rush in to replace it. "ow! Get off!!"
I did my best to get them off and started running. The little alien lizards screeched and chased after me, occasionally jumping at me to bite anywhere they could. Fuck fuck fuck!!!
I grabbed a branch off the ground while running and used it to knock back any that tried attacking me from the front, like one would playing baseball.
One jumped on the back of my head clawing at my hair and I shrieked as it became tangled. Throwing the stick at a group of them I tried to get the one off my head while I ran. It bit my hand more than once before I flung it away. Another jumped on my arm biting me and drawing more blood and I used a tree to knock them off as I ran. Soon enough the swarm thinned out into nothing and I was no longer being chased.
My sprint slowed to a job and I found a tree to lean against to catch my breath. Looking at my arms I could feel the sting of multiple small cuts from being bit probably over a hundred times, all across my body. Okay rule one no fucking with the tree lizards!
Sighing I leaned over with my hands on my knees catching my breath. Suddenly I felt something wet drip on my head. Confused, I stood up straight and felt more drip onto my face. Wiping it off with my fingers I looked at my hand to see it was water? Is it starting to rain?
Soon enough the few drops turned into sprinkles and in less than a minute the sprinkles turned into a complete downpour, leaving me to get absolutely drenched. "oh come on!"
I started my jog back up in hopes of finding somewhere to take shelter from the rain. Rain water was pouring down on me turning the dirt to mud and making it harder to see.
I could practically feel my body heat slipping away as the rain chilled me. I tried to keep the water out of my eyes with my hands but even then it was still a pain.
As I went I suddenly felt the ground give way under my foot and I shrieked as I tumbled down a muddy slope and landed in a small trenches. "mother fu-" sitting up I groaned seeing I was now not only soaking wet and cold, but also covered in mud, sticks and leaves.
Getting back up to my feet I hugged myself for warmth and squinted up at the slope I fell down. It was decently steep and the side of it seemed to be loosened up and unstable because of the rain. Guess I'm not climbing back up there…
Looking down the trench I decided to start heading downhill trudging through the mud. By now I was shivering and slowed down considerably. Finally coming to the end of the trench I found a spot to climb up. Looking around I noticed I was at the bottom of some kind of cliff and ahead of me was a small overhang covered in moss and vines.
It wasn't complete coverage but it's better than nothing. I went over to the rocky cliff to stand under the ledge and looked back at the forest as the rain continued to pour down on it. I shuddered, feeling cold to the bone. Fuck im going to get hypothermia at this rate…
Looking at the cliff I noticed some of the vines growing in a strange way. They weren't attacked from the rock and seemed to just be hanging over a crack in the cliff wall? Moving closer I moved the vines a little to see a decently sided fissure in the cliff that led into a hole, or cave of sorts. I stepped inside giving my eyes a moment to adjust.
Once I could at least partially see inside, my eyes widened. Holy shit… Inside was a cave with furs, clay pots, some makeshift shelves and racks loaded with tools and a firepit in the center to top it all off.
Stepping inside I looked around at everything while shivering. The firepit was practically empty, no fresh embers or coal, meaning this place has been abandoned for a while. I also took note of the small wood pile by the entrance. Maybe I could start a fire?
Throwing the sticks in the firepit I looked around the cave's supplies for something to create a spark. Grabbing a small jar on a shelf I opened it up to see some kind of jelly or slime inside. I sniffed it and winced before closing it and placing it back. Hope whoever lives here doesn't mind me going through their stuff…
Looking through the multiple bone tools that looked like they were for skinning I found a slate black rock that looked promising.
Grabbing my knife from my bag and going over the campfire I took a deep breath and prayed this worked.
Swiping the blade over the rock created sparks and I smiled like a Cheshire cat. I got a spark now I just need kindling… Looking around for something an idea popped in my head and I dug through my bag and pulled out my notebook.
Flipping through it I gave myself a small fist pump when I found some pages that were dry. Tearing a few out I used the knife and black rock to light the appear on fire. I did my best to keep the flame alive long enough to catch the sticks on fire, then the logs.
Once the fire was going strong I sighed in relief and tried to warm myself up by huddling as close as possible to it. With the cave properly illuminated now I could see there were three furrs hung up near the back and what looked like a makeshift tanning rack near the front of the cave. Some clay bowls and jars were placed in a corner with the tools I went through before.
Someone made all this stuff and used this place as shelter, but as I was going through stuff I noted there was a thin layer of dust on everything. Was this place just abandoned or did something happen to its owner?
Whatever happened I'm just thankful I found this cave before hypothermia from the rain set in…
Setting my bag off to the side I groaned at how soaked my suit was. Why didn't they make these things waterproof? If I stay in my wet clothes I'll probably get sick with a cold…
looking at the tanning rack, I got to my feet and pulled it over near the campfire before proceeding to strip out of my suit.
I hung the soaked clothing on the rack near the fire to dry as well as my shoes. My bra and underwear would be fine for the time being.
Grabbing one of the furs, I shook out any dust and laid it on the floor as a place for me to sleep near the fire. The second one I would fold up for a pillow and then the third would be my blanket.
Once I had everything set up I sat down by the fire half nude and enjoyed its warmth. The storm continued on, outside with its never ending shower of rain. Looking all over my body I cringed at all the bite marks across my skin. Little pricks…at least they weren't venomous, because if they were I'd already be dead by now.
I continued to sit by the fire and poke at it with a stick out of boredom. My stomach grumbled, reminding me of my lack of food and water. I sulked before glancing over at my bag, an idea coming to mind. I quickly retrieved my canteen and went to the cage entrance. Poking my head out of course it was still pouring like there was no tomorrow.
Setting the container upright in the rain just outside of the cave I smiled at the fact that now I'd at least get some water. Retreating inside I looked around thinking of what I could do next.
Going back to the fire I pulled my poking stick out of the pit and blew out the flame. The tip was blackened like charcoal with some smoke still coming off. I blew on it until it cooled down enough to the point it wouldn't burn my fingers when I touched it. Snapping about four inches off the end I threw the rest back into the fire and grabbed my notebook.
Might as well do something in my spare time… If I create a dossier for the plants and animals of the forest I'll have a better chance at surviving.
Thinking to myself for a moment I decided to start off with the dangerous stuff first. The lizard things and that thorny vine I encountered. Using the sticks charcoal tip I did my best to draw them out onto the page.
After about ten minutes I looked over what I had so far and cringed. The vine thing looked like a snake with spiky hair and the lizards looked like a five year old child drew it.
Sighing once more I set the book and makeshift pencil aside and stared at the fire in wonder. It didn't take long for expansion to set in and I laid down in the furs. They weren't the softest but I was too tired to care…
At least I was safe and warm now.
Yawning I curled up and closed my eyes listening to the sound of the falling outside.