When I open my eyes, everything looks unchanged. The sky is still blue, and the river's waters flow peacefully. At my side, Rose's breath is slow and steady. The sun is warm on my skin, and I take my time to wake up properly.
The meadow extending between our bench and the water is covered by green grass and yellow flowers. And in the midst of it, a rabbit is happily munching on the plants. It is adorable, furry, and innocent.
And it is meat.
Slowly, silently, I reach for the poker leaning against the bench.
The animal is concentrated on feeding, its eyes large and dark and its long ears moving. I hesitate, and my grip on the weapon relaxes.
But the thought of eating meat is enticing, and my mouth starts to water. Jenny might be shocked, but Rose and the guys would understand. They'd be grateful. I renew my hold on the murderous instrument.
The rabbit has discovered a dandelion and does not notice me rising slowly. I take a step towards it. The animal is still lost in its munching. Then I take another one. It looks up. I freeze.
Suddenly, the rabbit turns and stares at me. As I move, it darts off, fast like a bullet. I give chase, and it disappears in the gaping, dark doorway of an almost intact, small building at the river's edge. I follow.
The room inside has the size of our garage at home. Light enters through a wide opening going out onto the river. A boathouse? I search its shadows. In the corner of my eyes, something moves. The rabbit tries to escape back through the exit.
I wield the poker and strike. It finds its target, and the animal cries out, pitifully. I hit it again, and everything turns quiet.
"What's going on in here?" Rose stands in the doorway, staring into the gloom.
I look at my victim. The animal is down on the ground, motionless, a small puddle of blood forming on the cracked concrete beside it.
My knees are trembling. I point the poker at the rabbit. "Dinner." The high pitch of my voice grates my ears. I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
My heart is pumping. A flock of gnats dances in a brilliant shaft of light entering from the doorway. The fishy smell from the river is rich and heavy.
I feel awake, alive like never before.
It's evening, and Kevin, Elaine, Rose and myself are back at our camp. With a stony face, Rose has skinned and gutted the rabbit and cut it into pieces—my stomach still cramps at the mere thought of how she did it. She said she had seen her grandmother doing it.
The remains of the animal are now floating, pale chunks in the pot over the fire, stewing slowly.
"Hey!"
The voice makes me turn my head. Steve and Jenny are back, standing in the light of the evening sun. I'm relieved to see them.
Both take off their backpacks. "Look what we've brought you." Steve opens his pack and takes out an apple. "We have gathered at least a hundred of them."
I look at him, with a provocative grin on my face. "Thank you, oh great gatherer!"
He looks back at me and frowns, obviously confused the tone of my voice.
"While you were gathering," I continue, "the hunters have been hunting" With a wide gesture, I point towards the pot and the pieces of meat floating therein.
Steve comes closer, peeking into the simmering water. "I don't believe it!"
Dinner is wonderful. On the bland side, maybe, but I would never say this aloud. And hunger is the best sauce, they say.
Later, we sit around the fire, in the time-honored fashion of all hunters and gatherers. I have fed my clan members tonight. I'm wearing my pride like a crown.
Steve looks at Jenny and gives her a smile, which she returns. "We've thought about our situation."
What is this smirking about, I wonder.
"We think that we shouldn't stay here," he continues. "In the city, I mean. There's not much food ... Okay, there are rabbits." He waves a gnawed bone at the nearly empty pot. "But I'm sure that they also live outside the city. And there aren't many fruit trees here, or berries, or vegetables that we can eat. We've got to find a place where... people did more farming, agriculture. Jenny?" Steve looks at her, expectantly.
Another one of these looks. I frown.
"You know..." Jenny hesitates. "We're here at the western end of the lake. The northern shore used to be a very fertile area. They grew grapes there, and other fruit. That region was famous for its wines. Plants grow very well there because of the sunshine reflected by the lake. We should have a look at it. It's no more than a day or two's walk from here. We think it'll be easier to find food there."
I realize that I have just started to like the city. "Today, we found a building full of metalware," I say. "Knives, pots and other containers, tools. Much of it can still be used. We also found some berries. We shouldn't leave the city. There's so much here." Then another thought crosses my mind. "And what about people? I mean, we haven't really tried to find others, have we? There must be other people around." I glance at Kevin and Rose for support.
Kevin shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, finding people would be great. But if there were people here in the city, we would have found traces of them, no? And where could we go for finding people? We have no clue where they could be. So, Steve's and Jenny's idea sounds good. They want to go where the food is. I guess that's also the best place to search for people. No?"
Rose is nodding her head at his side.
Thinking of it, his reasoning is sound, as usual. But still, I like this place. I'm getting the hang of it. "And there's that tall building looking like a crystal tower. By the river. We should climb it, maybe we'll see something form it."
Steve looks at me. "We don't have to leave right now." He obviously has realized that I am reluctant to go. "We can spend some time here and collect anything useful... and climb that tower. But in the end, we should go to the north shore."
"And there are... there are other cities at the northern shore of the lake," Jenny adds. "I'm sure that we'll be able to find useful stuff there, too." She gives me a smile.
Steve nods in agreement.
It seems that my cause is lost. I glare at Steve and Jenny, who suddenly seem to have found a surprising degree of mutual understanding. I should have gone with them, today.