The CrestWorld I : Stuck

Water!!

There's a huge claw mark on this tree! But what scares me is the blood! Blood on the grass exactly beneath the tree. There was some dripping down the mark too.

I went closer to the mark. My body shivering with fear. I carefully observed the area.

It's a deep scratch and it's unusually long. As if the beast pushed in it's claws and then scratched it all the way. This seems to be some sort of a territorial marking. The blood looks fresh! There is some a bit ahead of the tree too. The beast must be carrying blood dripping meat!

This forest is giving me the creeps now. Should I head back? I haven't yet found a source of water yet! My instinct tells me that if there are beasts here, water should be near too. But if I need to move ahead, I have a feeling that I would need something better than this small twig for protection.

I looked at some stones fallen around, picked up a slightly sharp and rugged one. Broke a suitable branch from a tree; slightly long but light. I pulled of the leaves and started to scrape the edges using the stone.

My hands kept shaking. It's hard to focus on work when you are shivering with fear. I was being highly cautious. My eyes kept wandering off every moment.

It took a good amount of time! But I kinda made something better as a weapon.

I feel unusually pleased with my work. A "Do It Yourself" wild spear!! Now I have a little bit more confidence in moving forward.

I held the spear in my right and the blue leaf twig in the left hand. I didn't throw it cuz I like the leaves a lot!

The trail of blood went deeper into the forest. I took slow steps, while keeping a good look at my surroundings.

This forest is lot thicker than the blue one. There's not much space in between the trees. I kept following the trail but it was difficult to spot the blood because it's dark; not much light was reaching the ground.

After a while I found some broken branches with blood on them! Looks like the beast had some trouble passing through here. It tore off the branches blocking path. The branches had marks similar to the one I saw back there.

This sent shivers down my spine. Since I was gradually getting closer to the danger. The beast must be quite big and strong to have smashed branches on its way.

Even more cautious now, I went deeper into the woods.

After walking some more, I noticed that the forest was becoming spacious. Like there was more space to walk, less trees and more grass. It was easier to spot the trail. And there is some constant sound. Its very low but audible.

Without much thought, my legs continued. This time, more focused on hearing.

After going a bit further, the sound got clearer. Yeah! Yeah Yeah Yeah!! I can hear it! Not a mistake! It's the burble of flowing water.

Forgetting about the blood and beast, I rushed in the direction of the sound. Passed some trees, jumped over bushes, sprinted with excitement and finally... it was in sight! A stream of water.

It was narrow and had a slow but steady flow. I felt a a great joy! It felt like a big achievement! Wait! What are those things? I noticed it late, but there are some ball like creatures, jumping around the banks of the stream.

They didn't look dangerous. I tried tiptoeing to approach. But they noticed, and bounced off into the water.

Finally! The moment arrived. I bent down on my knees. Put down the branch and spear and washed off the dirt on my hands. Then put in my mouth and drank to my heart's desire.

The water had a different sweetness. I kept on drinking, don't know for how long. The pleasure I felt, as I quenched my thirst is unexplainable.

After a good drink, I was just living the joy of my small adventure when my eyes fell on a something a bit further to my right. Bones!! Blood and bones! Remains of an animal being fed on.

I had completely forgotten about the beast and the blood trail after I heard the stream. I was having an uneasy feeling. Fear was taking over my mind.

"Grrrrrrrr"

A roar from behind. I grabbed the spear. Turned around and I was finally facing the beast!