2 - Discovering Fire

I led the group to the rock I perched on earlier, and Thomas, our outdoors specialist, approved. It was a natural pillar tilted at a 45 degree angle.

It would make a solid base for a lean-to if we could figure out how we wanted to cut the trees down.

"So," Katie began, looking at the pillar, "Where do we start?"

"We have clothin', so I'd wager a guess that food, water, an' shelter would be a good place to start." Thomas replied.

"Based on the size of the scorpi-snake she killed, I would guess there's also some large prey in the area. And there won't be very many other dangerous predators." I noted.

"How big was that thing?" Thomas asked.

"Probably about the length of you, me, and Katie stacked on top of each other's shoulders. It's pincers were the length of my forearm?" I looked to Juliana for confirmation.

"I think that's right. It seemed a lot bigger when I was running, but I could well have been wrong."

Thomas thought for a moment. "we could probably use that thing's parts for some of our starting needs, like for tools and blankets."

"You, her and I could probably drag it back here." I said, gesturing to the black-haired Asian who still hadn't spoken a word. "By the way, what should we call you? We have three women here, so just calling you 'her' could get confusing."

She turned away from her scrutiny of the forest to look at me as I asked the question. She thought on it, then shrugged, and returned to her vigil.

"Do you think she can understand us?" Katie asked.

She turned to Katie and waved her hand in a so-so motion. Then she turned back to the forest.

"So, she's just mute," Juliana surmised.

"Do we call her Silence?"

Juliana and I gave Katie a questioning look. The Asian gave a thumbs up without looking back.

"Silence it is," Thomas said, "Now that all y'all have figured that out, what was it you were saying 'bout that snake thingy?"

"The three of us could probably drag it here. It might take some time, possibly even until after dark, but it's doable."

"Could we... Could we by chance go with you?" Juliana asked, "If you're wrong about the other predators, Katie and I could be attacked while you are gone."

"Plus," Katie added, "I can still help pull. Maybe we can make it back before dark."

I looked up at the sun. It was perhaps an hour before midday, assuming this world had the same length of day as the Earth we had come from. My stomach growled as I realized what time it was.

"Let's all go take a look at the thing. If we think it's edible, we can have a lunch too."

With the decision made and nothing to pack, we left immediately. Silence led the way, making three slash marks in a tree periodically. As I passed one of the trees, it was immediately obvious that the slashes made an arrow pointing to our base, the leaning pillar. I could already imagine the blacksmith Xor's scowl should he find out that one of his precious swords was being used like this.

We found the clearing that Thomas had been waiting in, and took a slight turn to the left. A total of about 20 minutes from the pillar, and we were standing before the eyeless scorpi-snake.

Thomas tapped its shell, which connected the snake's head and tail to its pincer arms. He inspected the pincers and scales before making a verdict.

"I have two guesses, and they are probably both true. The good news is that this thing probably won't kill us if we eat it."

"You're making it sound like your other guess is bad news." Katie said.

Thomas nodded.

"It's not the only predator in the area." I said. There were battle scars Thomas had traced in his inspection. Battle scars we could not reach while fighting it.

Every expression soured.

A stomach growled.

"Wait, how are we going to cook it?" Juliana asked.

That was a good question. We were probably more likely to survive if we could cook the meat before we ate it.

"We'll need fire," I said, considering the possible ways to start a fire. Stick on stick friction might work if we had Silence do it. She seemed fast enough to do it. I internally cringed at the idea of using Xor's sword with flint, but it could work if we had flint. If this world had magic, it probably wouldn't be in its current state--

A loud clang interrupted my thoughts. Silence had struck the claw with my -- well, her -- sword. A pile of kindling lay next to it. She struck again, causing sparks to scatter over the kindling.

After four more swings, she held a chipped sword, but stood in front of a small fire.

We gathered fist-sized rocks to put a barrier between the fire and the forest, cut off the end of the snake tail, using its skin as a "clean" surface to work on, and cooked it on sharpened sticks. It put off an awful acidic smell.

"Um... Are you sure we can eat that, Thomas?" Katie asked.

"I'm not so sure now... But what else should we eat?"

Katie didn't answer, though I could tell she was thinking.

While it cooked over the campfire, Silence explored without explanation.

She came back a few minutes later with the sword in her belt and a pair of pink cones in her hands.

She stuck the cones in the dirt next to the fire. Both were hollow and filled with water.

"Those look like the spiny plant I mentioned earlier. But... They aren't burning." Katie realized.

Silence nodded before passing me back my sword and leaving again. Thank Justys I didn't have to show it to Xor.

The snake tail was ready by the time Silence was back with the second pair of pink cups.

I gave her the second piece I had been cooking after she had put the other cones in the fire. It was the least I could do for her as she had saved my life, killed a monster, and found a source of water for us.

We used sticks to pull the now-boiled water out of the fire, and let it cool as the rest of the water boiled.

We looked at each other hesitantly. "Who's first?" Juliana asked.

Silence. Well, actually, yeah. She didn't wait, wolfing hers down before heading back out.

"I guess it's safe?" I said, before taking a bite. It was bland as potatoes, after I'd eaten nothing but potatoes for a week.

After forcing it down my throat, I answered their questioning glances, "We probably cooked out whatever that smell was. And all the other flavor with it."

I took another bite, and the others followed suit.

"We should find some salt or other spices to flavor our food." Katie suggested, "I wouldn't be able to eat this too many times."

"Salt is also good for preservatives." Thomas added, "because we don't have refrigerators, making meat into jerky will be our best way to save it for later."

Silence came back, two more cups in hand. She put them in the fire we had let burn down, and added a little more wood. Then she tentatively touched the cones she had removed.

Finding them bearable, she passed them to Thomas and Juliana.

"Once we're hydrated, maybe we should take this back to the pillar?"

"That sounds like a plan." Katie replied to me, "Until then, maybe tell us where on Earth we are? You seem to have a pretty good idea of what's going on."

I sighed. "That's a long story, but I guess we have time."