Survivorman Wannabe

Panicked, I began scanning my surroundings, desperately searching for Mackenzie. Walking amidst the towering trees, I strained to peer through the thick fog. Suddenly, a startled yelp pierced the eerie atmosphere as I stepped on something soft. Looking down, I noticed the fog swirling as a very bewildered-looking Mackenzie sat up, clutching her stomach, which had just been inadvertently stepped on.

"Adam, why did you step on me?" she asked, her voice filled with accusation. Then, she glanced around and tilted her head, continuing, "Where are we? How did we...?" Before she could finish her sentence, I scooped her up in a tight hug, burying my face in her neck.

"I'm so relieved you're safe; I can't imagine what I would have done if you had been hurt," I said, struggling to contain my emotions. Confused, Mackenzie murmured, "What's wrong? Did something happen?" After regaining my composure, I asked, "Wait, you don't remember the car accident?"

She pulled away from my hug, furrowing her brows in deep concentration before eventually saying, "The last thing I remember was getting in the car with you to go to school." With a sigh, I decided to recount what had happened, from the car accident to my encounter with the goddess, but I chose to keep the information about the system to myself for now.

As I narrated the events, I observed Mackenzie's face transitioning from horror to disbelief, ultimately settling on a dazed expression. "What are we supposed to do now?" she asked. Surprised by her complete trust in me, I couldn't help but question, "You're just going to believe everything I've told you?"

She responded with a radiant smile, saying, "Why wouldn't I? You've always been there for me since I was little." She fell silent for a moment before continuing with a hint of melancholy in her voice, "Besides, you looked so worried when you hugged me; I can't believe you would fake that."

Gathering my thoughts, I stood up and calmly suggested, "Well, we should probably start moving," as I stretched. Mackenzie tilted her head in confusion, but before she could ask anything, I inquired, "Have you ever heard of the rule of threes?"

"No," she replied. I continued, "You can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Since we're breathing, the next priority is to find shelter, ideally a settlement, although we shouldn't get our hopes up based on what the goddess told me."

Finally taking a good look at our surroundings, aside from the towering trees, moss, creeping vines, and occasional ferns, the area around us was mostly devoid of life. My vision was obstructed in all directions after just a few dozen feet, but there was a noticeable slope.

Bending down, I withdrew the knife from my boot and fastened the sheath to my waistband. Confidently pointing downhill, I said, "We should head in that direction." As we walked, Mackenzie couldn't help but stare at the knife at my waist. She asked, "Why are we going this way?"

"Well," I explained, "our current location isn't ideal. The canopy here is too thick, blocking sunlight from reaching other plants. Without plants, we can't gather anything, and, more importantly, animals won't have enough food to stay in the area, so they'll move elsewhere. Additionally, water flows downhill, so we're more likely to come across a river, a crucial source of find resources."

With determination, Mackenzie and I began walking through the dense forest, our footsteps muffled by the thick carpet of moss that covered the forest floor. The fog still clung to the trees, giving the whole place an otherworldly feel. As we moved forward, we discussed our next steps.

"So, Mackenzie," I began, "our immediate priorities are finding shelter, water, and food. We'll need to be resourceful and cautious as we explore. And we should keep our eyes open for any signs of civilization or potentially some monsters."

"Wait monsters? What are you talking about?" She blurted out, shocked. "From what the goddess told me, this world has magic and monsters. So, we need to keep our eyes out" I replied.

Mackenzie nodded in agreement. "I get it, Adam. Survival is our top priority. But what about that goddess you mentioned? Do you think we should trust her?"

I thought for a moment before replying, "I don't know, it's hard to say. We should remain open to her advice, but also remember that we're in an unfamiliar world with its own rules. I think we can only trust each other right now and rely on our own judgment."

As we continued walking, the trees were gradually becoming smaller, and patches of vibrant green vegetation started to break through the mossy ground. We heard the distant chirping of birds and the rustling of small animals in the underbrush.

As we ventured deeper into this evolving landscape, the fog gradually thinned, revealing a sunlit canopy above. The transition from the dense, eerie forest to a more welcoming environment was striking. We soon stumbled upon a small stream meandering through the woods, its crystal-clear water a reassuring sight.

"Water" I exclaimed, relieved. "This is a good sign. We can fallow this downstream from here."

Mackenzie knelt by the stream and cupped her hands to take a drink. After quenching her thirst, she looked up at me with a hopeful expression. "Do you think there might be a settlement or other people nearby?"

I gazed around, trying to pear through the trees for any signs of civilization. "It's possible," I replied. "Settlements tend to be near water sources, but this is a pretty small creek making it unlikely. Hopefully it leads to a larger river."

As we continued our journey alongside the babbling stream, our spirits lifted by the supply of water, sunlight, and occasional signs of animals. Walking for a few hours, Mackenzie was obviously struggling to keep going.

Kneeling down I said, "Mackenzie how about I carry you for a while?". She blushed and looked away, but still leaned against me, rapping her arms around my neck, whispering "I am sorry I can't keep up".

"Don't worry about it" I said with a sly smile, sliding my hands under her sundress, my hands sinking into her spongy thighs. Lifting her up I couldn't help but marvel at the softness of her skin, her small but growing breast pressing against my back, the faint smell of floral soap and her warm breath against my neck made it hard to concentrate as I walked.

After another hour of walking, with the shadows growing longer and the setting sun casting a reddish hue. Despite being distracted, we finally found a shallow cave to set up camp. It was situated a few hundred feet away from the creek we had been following. Nestled within a rocky limestone outcrop, the cave had a small clearing around it that allowed the fleeting sunlight to filter through.

With some reluctance, Mackenzie climbed down from my back. "I think this is a good spot to start setting up camp. But we need to hurry; the sun will be setting soon," I said as I began picking up rocks and tossing them towards the mouth of the cave. "Could you please go and collect some firewood? Just make sure to stay within shouting distance."

"Sure thing," Mackenzie replied, her cheeks still carrying a tinge of redness, before scurrying off. After gathering an assortment of various rocks, I walked around the clearing, searching for tinder and sticks.

Not much later, I came across a tree with some old man's beard on a low-hanging branch. After collecting it and some sticks along the way, I started to dig a hole near the cave's entrance. Before long, I heard a rustling sound, and Mackenzie appeared from behind some bushes, her arms full of various sticks and branches.

With a huff, she dropped the sticks next to the hole I had been digging. "Why are you digging a hole?" she asked.

"Open fires can be seen for miles around at night, so we need to be careful not to attract too much attention before we have a grasp of our surroundings. We don't know if there are any monsters or potentially dangerous people around," I explained with a serious expression.

Grabbing some of the rocks I had gathered, I began to strike them together, dropping them and moving on to the next pair. Sitting down beside me, Mackenzie watched curiously for a while before finally asking, "Why are you banging rocks together?"

"This cave is made of limestone, so there's a good chance that some of the rocks around here have flint in them. I can use the flint to start a fire using my knife," I explained calmly as I continued striking the rocks around me.

Eventually, one of the rocks split, revealing a black, glassy interior. I smiled smugly as I showed the rock to Mackenzie before setting it aside. Then, I began building a small stone wall around the hole I had dug with the remaining rocks, on the edge closest to the outside of the cave. Afterward, I tore off a small ball of lichen I had collected and showed it to Mackenzie.

"This is a very useful plant known as old man's beard. It can be used to treat external wounds like cuts or burns. Some homeopaths recommend making tea out of it, but that has questionable benefits. But for now, it will make great tinder for starting our fire." After shaping a loose bowl with the tinder, I took the flint in my left hand, and holding my knife in my right, I began to strike the flint with the spine of the knife.

A shower of sparks cascaded down, and after a few strikes, they fell into the tinder bowl I had made. Quickly, I picked up the smoldering lichen and, blowing on it gently, I folded it over the sparks. After a few more moments of blowing, it suddenly burst into flames. Not wanting to waste the chance, I carefully dropped it into the fire pit and started to cover it with some of the smaller sticks we had collected.

Behind me, I heard a quiet "Wow." After tending to the fire for a few more minutes, I was satisfied with it and began throwing some of the larger branches onto it before sitting back. Mackenzie scooted up next to me and asked, "how do you know how to do all of this?"

Sighing, remembering my mother and the world we had left behind, I said, "When I started to rebel against my mom's teachings and traditions, I wanted to learn practical knowledge, and I figured that learning how to survive was as practical as it got. But honestly, my knowledge is pretty surface level, and I got distracted learning about prehistory and early humans, and never really looked back."

"Well, I still think it's pretty amazing," she said quietly, leaning against me, watching the last rays of sunlight stretch across the landscape before disappearing as dusk fell. "I hope our moms are okay," she said as she drifted off to sleep on my shoulder, tears in the corners of her eyes.