The Core Of The Earth

Five Weeks Later....

It had been five weeks since the initial earthquake, which Allie had started referring to as the Great Earthquake in her head, since she had no one to talk to, and Allie had built herself a cozy home in the forest. She had moved a little further into the forest- about a ten minute walk to the largest part of the river, though she had followed an offshoot from the river, so she still had access to water- for more food and shelter. Then she had collected tons and tons of sticks- a few dozen of which still sat against a tree trunk, unused- and built herself a more permanent home. Using logs, she had built herself a small rectangular base to protect her home from the forest critters that might want to take refuge in her hut. She had then taken large sticks and cut them down to the same height using sharp stones she'd found near the river. After that, she used the same stones to flatten the sticks, so they became some sort of polished wooden planks. The planks stood upright and overlapped, all around the base of her house. The overlap kept some of the warmth in. For the roof, Allie used about ten dozen small sticks and gathered them in a cone shape in the middle, using strands of moss and weeds to tie it together.

On the inside, she coated the entire floor with large layers of moss, which reminded her of the thick carpets she used to have at home. In a corner sat her make-shift bed; made of more moss, soft leaves, and ferns. It was a circular shape that was bound together with vines and flowers. Allie had also learned to carve with sharp stones with different bends in their points. She had made a small storage area on a wall of the house. It was organized into two sides– food and herbs. The herbs section had significantly more items than the food side, but she had been holding up well enough. She had found a hidden treasure trove of onions a week back, and they were still lasting. She had also found a group of what looked like tomato plants, but had been hesitant to try them out in case they were poisonous or dangerous, so she kept them just in case she had a food shortage and they were her last hope. A small pool of water occupied another corner of her house.

Allie wasn't exactly sure why she had not gone back to San Francisco yet. She just had a feeling she should stay in the forest.

Hidden.

Allie had also developed a new feeling with nature in her time in the Forest. When she was running low on food, she would gather dandelion seeds and scatter them around, letting the wind catch them and carry them far and wide. Every time she had done so, Mother Nature seemed to respond kindly to her good deed of spreading the dandelion population, and rewarded her with a new cache of vegetables. Allie wasn't sure when or how or even why this connection had started, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

Today Allie had woken bright and early with a fixed destination in mind. She wanted to explore a little farther back into the forest, still following the river, of course. The river had become a needed landmark for Allie; as long as it was there she could find her way back home.

So that was where she was right now, trudging along the side of the river offshoot. Sharp pebbles slid beneath her feet, which only five weeks ago would have Allie on the ground with pain, but now, she walked as if it were the softest grass she had ever laid foot on. After about thirty minutes, a sharp gleam signalled her from the front. Allie's heart lept in her throat as she saw something on the ground ahead. Her walk quickened until she was running through the forest toward the un-moving shape on the ground. As she grew clower, the shape resembled something Allie had not seen in more than a month. Drawing within ten feet of the shape, Allie felt certainty like a stone in her stomach. She knew her new purpose.

Its face was bloody and covered in mud. It had twigs stuck in its short, curly brown hair. It was barely breathing at all.

Picking it up on her shoulders, Allie began the long trek home, which was even longer still because of the extra weight and that she had to take paths without thorns, in case she hurt her precious burden. Throughout the walk, Allie felt its heart beat lessen and had to fight harder to arrive back to her house.

An hour later, Allie arrived at the familiar clearing that contained her house. Exhausted but proud of herself, Allie dropped her burden gently on her bed and got to work. At this point it breathed once every ten seconds, and shallowly. There was no time to lose.

There was a large, nasty scrape across his face, a leg seemed to be at an odd angle, and it was covered in minor cuts and bruises. Allie ended up using two stems of ginseng, a small leaf of feverfew (to help prevent the fever that was sure to come when it awoke), a poultice of echinacea on all his wounds, three poppy seeds to keep it relaxed, and a sprig of chamomile, just in case. By the end of her treatment, the sun had begun to travel down the sky and her stock of herbs had been almost completely depleted. Allie felt proud of her work though, and knew it wouldn't be a waste. It would just take a little time before it woke up.

It turned out a little time would be four days. Allie had gone out every day to replenish her stock and redressed its wounds once a day. She went as far as finding a thick branch in the forest and using her carving stones to make a sort of pitcher. She used her creation to pour water into its open mouth a few times a day. She also took a rounded stone, cleaned it off, and used it and the pitcher to mash up some food and force it down its throat. Who knew how long it had been out there, barely breathing and without any food or water?

On the morning of the fourth day, Allie woke from her makeshift bed to two bright blue eyes staring at her. Bolting upright, Allie said hurriedly, "Hi! You're finally awake! How are you feeling? Was the bed okay? Well it must have been okay if you're awake now," Allie answered her own question, her voice was surprisingly clean for not having spoken to anyone out loud for about six weeks (she had been keeping count on a wet stretch of sand next to the river, marking every passing day). "I'm SO glad your okay, i thought i might have done something wrong, or..." Allie trailed off awkwardly as it just stared back at her. "Im Allie, by the way," she finished quietly. To her surprise, the boy cracked a small smile and replied,

"Hi, Im Ethan. A pleasure to meet you."