3 It's a...

Bracing myself for the worst, I await the predator. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, one minute… I can finally see the shadow of that deadly predator, and the next instant I see its whole silhouette...'It's a rabbit…. IT'S A FUCKING RABBIT!' I screamed in my mind. I jumped out from behind the boulder, and pounced at the rabbit as if my life depended on it. I swung the stick at it, and I don't know why but the rabbit was so surprised, it forgot to actually move.

"BAAM!"

The rabbit had no chances against that kind of attack whatsoever. This resolved my anger a bit, and I had a rabbit which meant meat. The problem was, the rabbit was raw not cooked. 'What am I supposed to do with a raw rabbit?' I thought. Perhaps a stupid question, but I had no fire to cook it. Then I recalled that you can make flame without the specific tools. 'Yes... if I remember correctly.... Long time ago, my father used to take me out to camp near the village. He showed me how to make fire with sticks. I can try that, but I will need some wood first' I thought.

I went outside, and collected some sticks, branches and dry grass for my fire. 'Now, I just have to make the fire, easy!' I thought. After ten minutes of grinding a stick on a piece of flat wood, my frustration reached new heights. I was rotating a stick very fast in order to create something like hot ash, which I could then use to light up the fire. After another ten minutes, I finally succeeded. I had a fire!

But I couldn't just cook the rabbit like that, I had to take out all the gross stuff from inside. I thought 'I could maybe use sharp stone to do it', and searched for one inside the cave. I couldn't find anything sharp in the cave or near it. Outside was too dark already, and it would be too dangerous to travel around the forest at night. I could see jack shit as well. 'I could possibly make a torch, but then I would stick out like a sore thumb' I thought. I had no stone, so the only option was to use my hands. I made a mental note to find a sharp stone for the future.

Using my hands to tear a rabbit open, wasn't easy. After some fiddling and straining, I managed to open the belly and take out all the intestines. Next, I pierced a stick up its butt, and placed it above the fire. When the fur started to catch fire and burn, the smell was so intense I had to get out of the cave. The smell was bad to the point, where I almost vomited. 'I don't think any wild animal would appreciate that kind of smell. Maybe I will be a bit safer at night, due to that stench' I thought.

Finally, after all the fur burned away and meat cooked, I could enjoy my meal. It was burned a bit as well as hard, but hell! It was meat. Not those stupid berries! After my meal, I hid behind one of the boulders and went to sleep. The next day, I resumed my journey not forgetting to look for sharp stones while I was at it.

I got more used to traveling in the forest. I guessed that I was adapting more to that survival thing. Few hours into my traveling, I was finally able to find a sharp stone. It would be enough to cut up the rabbit, as for sharpening the stick… I didn't think so.

Early in the afternoon, I got a surprise and found a group of hunters. I was elated at the thought of talking with fellow Humans. When I approached them, they didn't seem to be in a good mood. Nevertheless, I came over and said "Hi". One of the hunters turned towards me, and asked with obvious anger in his voice "What do you want?".

I told them, "I'm from Freemount Village, and I came out on a journey". I also asked if they could give me some tips, and perhaps something sharp. I had no knifes or nothing, so anything they could give me would be appreciated. Of course, I mentioned my lack of money. All the hunters just looked at me from head to toe, and started laughing… hysterically!

'I know I'm no hunter but shit... At least be serious here, when I ask you for help!' I thought. Another hunter pointed at the stick behind me, and asked "Is that your weapon?". To which I nodded my head in confirmation. Then again, hysterical laughter… for five minutes! I waited calmly at the side. When they finally stopped laughing, one of them said "Kid, you got some balls to actually travel this forest like that". I asked again "So can you guys help me in any way?".

One of the hunters finally broke the silence, and said "Ron, give the kid that old knife. Even if he dies, at least we did something for him, right?". The hunter called Ron took out an old and tattered knife, then threw it at me. Yes, threw it, not passed it. Fortunately, I was paying attention and caught it. I thanked them and moved further on my journey. I could only hear some stupid comments and laughs behind me, but I didn't care. I now had a weapon! I could do stuff!

On my way, I spotted more deer and rabbits. I tried to sneak up on them, but to no avail. My skills in that department were pretty much non existent. I had to satisfy my hunger with more berries, correct ones of course. I found another stream late in the afternoon, and decided to rest there. 'I guess animals need to drink too. Maybe I will get a chance to hunt something' I thought. I took out the knife and started to sharpen my stick. It took me a while, but the work was worth it. I now had a pretty pointy wooden spear. This was not ideal for my plan though. I needed smaller sticks, or at least small enough I could throw. My plan was to hunt those rabbits by throwing spears, or basically pointy sticks at them. I now had a knife, I could create any weapon… from wood of course.

It took me some time to actually create wooden throwing spears, but it was worth it. 'I can try them out the next day' I thought. When I was done with those spears, I needed to build or find a shelter. When I searched the area, I wasn't so lucky this time. I couldn't find anything that would be suitable. I decided to gather some branches, sticks and leaves instead, to construct my own shelter.

When I had loads of material collected. I started the construction of my shabby shelter. I used one of the trees to place branches around, then tied everything with vines, and added leaves, grass and whatnot as my bedding. My new shelter wasn't very sturdy, but it was mine. I was more tired that day, than usual. I decided to linger no more and went to sleep after eating some more berries.