Survival of the Fittest, Part 3

Rain came again in the morning, and Jack woke up to the pitter-patter sound on the tent walls. After taking a moment to push the memories of home from the forefront of his mind, he prepared himself mentally for the day. Once he felt ready, he stepped out into the morning rain. Looking over the camp, he saw Alli, sitting at the base of a tree, munching the last of the venison from yesterday.

"You snore, y'know."

Jack shrugged. "If you say so. I've never heard it."

Alli chuckled, then tossed the last piece of meat into her mouth. As she chewed it, Jack turned to the other tent, and started to wake Jon. "Jon, morning again. We gotta get going if we want to make that village by nightfall."

Jon opened the tent, climbing out into the rain. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this, I'm really looking forward to getting out of here tonight, and hopefully that village is the key."

Quickly, they set to work on the tents, then got on the way. As the rain cleared, the air warmed up again, and by afternoon, it was clear they wouldn't make it to the village without more food. There didn't seem to be any animals in the area, so they were keeping an eye out for plants that might be useful. Towards the middle of the afternoon, they found one. A small berry plant, completely safe to eat, was planted just a little off their path, and provided enough for them to eat for the afternoon.

But there was no time to stop for long, so they continued at a good pace, reaching the clearing that held the village, just as the sun was setting. The dim light made everything a bit eerie, and the long shadows from the sunset made the village look odd. But something else was wrong - the village was empty. There was no movement at all, and no people, alive or dead. The whole area was deserted, abandoned at some point long ago.

As the three explorers searched the buildings, they didn't find much. A small cache of weapons and ammunition, including a shotgun and a rifle, provided relief for the pistols and dwindling ammo they carried, while four beds in one of the houses provided a good place to spend the night. A stockpile of canned vegetables in one of the other cabins provided some small amount of dinner, and they agreed that perhaps it would be best to look over everything else in the morning.

Night in the cabin was a bit quieter, and the three occupants slept well, a metal roof and wooden walls isolating them much more from the outside then the tents ever could. Jack fell asleep last, thinking about the work he had tomorrow, and the disappointment of the empty village. The lack of people was disappointing, but at least there were some resources they could use. He wondered what the other cabins held, but there wasn't really time to think about it. At last he drifted into sleep.

Survival of the Fittest, Part 2

Morning came with the sound of rain again. The rain woke Jack again, so he started to get ready. As he got out of the tent, the camp was silent, save the sound of the rain. He decided to take this as a chance to get cleaned up, and maybe find something to eat. He grabbed his gun and took a few steps out of the camp. He used the rain drops to get some of the dirt off his hands, wiped it off his arms and hair as he felt the water accumulate. The water was cold, and the air felt good after the heat of yesterday. He shivered a bit whenever the breeze blew, and he wanted desperately to be back in bed. But he knew that he needed food for the day. And with three of them now, it was even more important. He walked quietly, ears and eyes open, trying to find something to eat.

Suddenly, he heard something off to his left. Looking towards it, he saw the shape of a deer. A large buck, it was clearly a strong animal. And it looked like it would be good eating. He moved slowly, knowing the rain and the wind were on his side for this kill. He brought his gun around to his target. Pressing the safety button, he felt the power of the weapon, knew the death he carried in his hand. He felt the rush as he gently squeezed the trigger, knowing that this moment was the last this deer would ever have.

The animal fell to the ground, blood flowing from the wound in it's side, where the bullet had entered.Moving fast now, he ran over to the deer, grabbed the legs, and pulled them together. This would be good eating indeed, and Jack couldn't wait to get it back to the camp. As he hauled the beast back to the camp, he felt good about his kill. It had been a fair hunt, the animal had just fallen victim to bad luck. Had they met later in the day, it would not have been so easy. But then it would not have been raining.

Walking into the camp, he saw the gun again, Alli pointing it at him from the open door of her tent. "You woke me, you know. I don't like waking up to the sound of gunfire. Although to be fair, I didn't know that until this morning."

"I'm sorry. But if it makes you feel better, I brought breakfast. Venison is a very good way to start the day. And Jon apparently slept through the gunfire."

Jon's voice came from his tent, obviously annoyed. "No, that woke me up. I was just trying to get back to sleep. Of course, with you two yammering out there, that is pretty hard."

Alli smiled, climbing out of her tent, carrying matches and a small bundle of kindling. "I was planning to use this tonight, but I can collect more today while we travel." She grabbed a couple of the better logs from the wood pile, and used them to isolate the twigs from the water accumulating in her fire pit from the previous night. She put the fire together pretty quickly, having the fire going in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, Jack grabbed his pocketknife, and started working on the deer. He got the skin off fairly quickly, and in a good sized chunk. Then he went to work on the meat, pulling the chunks off, and piling them up. By the time he was halfway through the deer, Alli was already working on cooking it. She had them on a couple of thin planks of wood she had collected, sitting near the fire, but not so close as to catch. The smell of smoke and venison filled the campsite, making both their mouths water.

As the first chunks came off, they started tearing off smaller, bite-sized pieces. They started munching, feeling better from the food and the night of rest. As the last chunks were coming off the fire, Jon finally got out. He grabbed some of the pieces, chowing down. After eating, they started to tear down the tents. By the time they were all packed up, the rain was starting to taper off, and the fire was dead. There was still a lot of meat left, all of it cooked, so they packed it up and spread it through the bags, then started off through the woods.

Jack led the way, keeping an eye out for anything interesting, and trying to figure out how far they had to go. "We won't make it to the village today, since we got off to a late start. But the food was good, and much needed, so I don't feel too bad about that."

Jon spoke up from the back. "Yeah, we'll have to make a good effort tomorrow. I'm glad you managed to take a deer down, though, since that means good eats all day, and some tomorrow."

The day was long, and even with the late start, they made good distance. The day warmed up, just like the last one, and all three travelers were eager for the cool of night to come. Trying to keep spirits up, Jack and Alli started talking.

"Who would have expected this?" Alli said. "Stuck in the woods with minimal gear, and no way to get home, or call. Lucky they had these mini-survival packs on the plane, huh?"

"I'm not so sure about luck on this one." answered Jack. "Enough packs for everyone, and each pack with a handgun we were required to train on in class, and a small tent, a good, durable sleeping bag that is extremely light weight, and a pocketknife. Almost too perfect. Like they expected trouble, and wanted to make sure we could all survive. Plus the professor never jumped. I was the last one out, and after I jumped, the plane righted itself, stopped smoking, and turned around. Like it was a false emergency to begin with. I think this is the final, not whatever camp we were supposedly flying to. It seems reasonable, for a wilderness survival course. And I intend to pass it."

"You might be right. But still, there is no way the university staff would go along with this. If half the students die on the final, there has to be some kind of investigation, right?"

"I don't know what is going on, but I intend to survive this."

They continued to walk, occasionally talking about various things of interest. As the light began to wane, they started to look for a good place to sleep. The trees were thick here, and the underbrush heavy, so they had to keep pushing on. Finally, as the light was almost completely gone, they found a small clearing, just large enough for their tents, and set up camp.

Alli assessed the site, looking it over as she pitched her tent. "I think we should forgo the fire tonight, guys. There isn't enough space here for a fire, not if we're going to set up these tents."

"I agree," said Jack. "Besides, we want to get going first thing tomorrow, so we should go ahead and head straight to bed."

Jon nodded in a agreement, and headed into his tent. Jack and Alli both went in as well, leaving the camp empty. The sounds of the forest took over, and the evening dragged on into night.

Survival of the Fittest, Part 1

7:30 am, Tuesday. It was raining. Again. For the fourth time in as many days, Jack woke up to the sound of the rain on plastic. The sound was always soothing, a reminder of home. It used to rain a lot where he grew up. At least his tent didn't leak. This tent was a good place to sleep in that way, though it was definitely not as good as his home from childhood.

Since he was awake now, it was time to get going. He folded up his blanket, dropped it in his bag, and stepped outside. It was very wet, and the smell of wet wood, that smell you get in a forest in the middle of the storm, was very strong. He loved that smell. Jack had spent many days of his childhood sitting on the back porch of his parents' home, smelling the rain. To this day, that smell was calming.

Jack looked over at the other tent in this area. It was much the same as his, small, green, two poles and a couple of ropes. Pup tents are nice because they pack small, but the setup time, and the need to use stakes, make them a bit inconvenient. After the four days straight of rain to start this adventure, though, he was glad of anything that kept him dry through the night.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he started towards the tent. "C'mon Jon, it's morning now. Time to get going, if we want to get out of here." Jon was his travel companion, for now, though they had only just met. Two days ago, he came across Jon in a small clearing in the woods. Before that, they had seen each other in class, but they hadn't really talked.

"Jon, c'mon man, we've got to get going" Jack said again. Seeing that there was no movement in the tent, and eager to get a start walking for the day, Jack pulled back the flap on the tent. "Are you ok, man? We've got to get moving." Jon was lying there, still, not awake yet. Jack reached in and grabbed his ankle, giving it a good shake. "Wake up, man. This isn't funny."

"Huh, whatsat?!" Jon sat up suddenly, kicking loose Jack's hand. "Oh, it's you. Man, you freaked me." Jack had settled into this routine, having gotten used to waking Jon already, even though they had only traveled together a couple of days. Jon seemed to be having a bit of trouble with it, though, as he wasn't quite used to being woken up by other people.

"Get packed, I want to make it a good ways today, hopefully get out of these woods and into a village. We passed one on our way down here on the plane, so hopefully we can get up there and get a good days rest. Also, it's a bit wet, so be prepared." And with that, Jack went back to his own tent. He started pulling it down, packing it up. He finished about the time Jon got out.

Jon wasn't really cut out for this. He was a bit of a bigger guy, though not terribly fat, just out of shape. He got tired easily, and these days of travel were really wearing him out. Still, he was getting better. He had given up on his hair, which was a bit shaggy, blond, and now speckled with dirt where it stuck out of his black ballcap. He was wearing the same thing as yesterday: blue jeans and a black tee, both of which had gotten a bit dirty.

Jon started to break down his tent. "Ok Jack, what's the plan for the day? We going to keep going south?"

"Yeah, and hopefully we'll find something else to eat. That deer last night was good, and the nuts were too, but we're out now, so we'll have to find something else. There's some berries near here, but I recognized them as something poisonous from class, so no go on those."

"Hmph" responded Jon. "That is unfortunate. We were lucky we found that food. Maybe we'll get lucky again today."

"Sure, just let me be the one to take the shot this time. You have terrible aim, and usually terrible luck." Having both finished packing up, they grabbed the gear and set off southward. With each step, the ground gave a little, the mix of leaves and mud as soft as any plush carpet. The sound of the rain continued all around them, and as they walked, they passed by occasional pools of water, though they were far too dirty to drink.

Within a couple hours, the rain had died off, as it had the previous couple of days. As the rain cleared up, the sun began to poke through the leaves, and the air began to feel warm. The humidity was high, and the air felt muggy. Without the rain cooling things off, they both were starting to feel warmer.

As they walked, there was very little to disturb them. There were almost no animals to speak of, and the few that were around were smaller. The wind was slight, though the heat was annoying. As they walked on, Jack began noticing some things that were off. Some of the fresher tracks looked like footprints, from people, instead of from the usual deer and squirrels. Jack was getting a bit on edge, as this would be the first person he and Jon had run into. And either way, the person was ahead of them. Whoever it was, they had already gotten a lot further along the way to the village, so maybe they could meet up there. There was a good chance that whoever had left the prints was someone else who had been on the plane.

Evening came faster then either of them would have liked, and as the light grew dimmer, they pressed on, hoping to reach some kind of clearing or something. As the woods grew darker, they began to grow creepier, as they did every night, making the woods a place of shadowy beasts, making each dark space a place where something could leap from at any moment. The sounds of the forest began to change, and as the owls started to come out, they both knew it was time. They started just looking for any space large enough to pitch the tents, and that is when Jack noticed the glow. It wasn't much, but it was there. At least 200 yards away, there was a slight glow behind a tree. The thickness of the woods here must have blocked it from view, but it was clear they needed to get there for the night.

"Jon, look up ahead. See the glow? I think that's a campfire. Hopefully, whoever is there will be nice enough to share the warmth." They both started to move on a bit faster, having a renewed energy from this sighting.

As they approached the tree that hid the glow, the woods around grew blacker. The fire was beginning to dim, and the days walk was beginning to take it's toll. Finally, Jack reached the small clearing that held the fire. Sitting beside it was a petite woman with light skin covered with patches of dirt, which matched the dirt on her clothes quite nicely. Her red hair was also a bit dirty, and pulled back behind her head. She was holding a small pistol, pointing it in their direction.

Jack recognized her immediately as Alli J., one of the girls from their class. She seemed to recognize him too, and lowered the pistol. "Jack, I'm surprised to see you. You were towards the back of the line of jumpers, and I was off first. You must have been moving quick to catch up to me."

"Yeah, I have been. I want to get out of here, so I've been up early every morning, trying to make a lot of distance, even in the rainy hours of the morning. Jon and I trekked about 2 hours this morning before the rain stopped."

"Hmph. I try, but it is much easier to stay in the tent until the rain starts to die down. I don't want to get caught in the real bad rain, if I can avoid it. But that would be a lot faster way out of these woods."

"Well, that is true. And the rain isn't too bad if you get under the trees. But anyway," Jack said, pausing for a moment to try and word his next statements carefully. "Would you mind if we joined your campsite here? We need a place to rest for the night. And in the morning, you can join us on our way out of here."

Alli shrugged. "You're welcome to camp here, I don't mind the company. As for tomorrow, we'll just have to see about that. I'm not sure if joining up with you guys will help me, and if we go separately, I don't have to share what little food I find."

Jon looked at the two of them. "Well, that is good enough for me. I need to get some sleep." He grabbed an empty area and started setting up his tent.

Jack shrugged. "You know, that probably isn't a bad idea. I'm going to do that too."

"Well, I'm going to bed then. Put the fire out when you guys are done with the light." Alli climbed into her tent and closed it up. Jack smiled, grabbed his own tent, and set to work. Once he and Jon were both set up, they grabbed the loose dirt that was next to the fire, and threw it on. The fire began to smolder, as the dirt smothered it, and the light began to dim. With the fire mostly out, they covered the firewood pile with a jacket and went back to their tents.

New posts!

Starting next week, I have a new story finished, which will start posting next week. It's a few weeks worth, and hopefully I've finished my next one by the time that story is through. Or maybe I'll just write a couple of one week shots. I haven't decided yet.