Survival Challenge Gone Wrong

Chapter 8 - Day 4

Gen woke up to shuffling noises outside the hut. He dragged his hand against his face to rub his eyes, listening in. A soft clacking of wood on wood let Gen know that Senku was up and working on the raft. He drew a last breath and braced himself to leave the warmed sand and crawled out of the hut.

Senku sat near the still-burning fire pit, the smoke billowing up and rising high. It floated just up to the tips of the trees, until fizzling out to drop the ash particles into the soil and environment. They did not really need it as a smoke alarm at this point, as they planned to save themselves, but they never knew if they could get lucky. Gen approached Senku, feet silently trodding against the sand. He uttered a raspy 'good morning' and Senku flinched, turning to him in apt surprise.

"Yea. How are you feeling?" Senku's wide eyes relaxed, instead focused on tracing Gen's face for signs of illness and fatigue.

"Much better," Gen lied with a wide smile. Well, he did feel more energised, but still weak and his head like cotton...

Senku just eyed him sceptically and asked, "I don't buy it. You sure? We have a lot to do today, so if you'd rather take it easy I won't hold a grudge."

What grudge? This was all about Gen at this point. Gen and his helpless feelings of incompetence. Well, now he was about to turn everything around and blow Senku away with how truly perceptive and crafty he could be. Admittedly, he had not yet shown him any of that, his body always so inconveniently exhausted. It couldn't be used as an excuse anymore - he doubted he'd be feeling any less tired anytime soon.

"I'm not fully recovered, I think, but I am in good condition to help," Gen sang, noting that the raft was pretty wide and looked to be about complete. He glanced up at the sky, registering that the sun was almost in the middle, signifying that it was around noon. Huh, well he sure slept in today. They usually got up pretty soon after sunrise, the light making them unable to sleep for too long. Great. Another thing to make up to Senku. "Should I try hunting like you suggested or do you need help? I hear birds chirping so maybe I will finally get you some food."

"It would be nice," Senku confessed. "Still, make sure not to overdo it. If you collapse I will personally strap you down to the raft until we reach our final destination."

"Kinky," Gen grinned, enjoying the anticipated look of disgust the other threw at him.

"Not like that. Just go," Senku waved him away, and Gen was glad to see that Senku believed he was well enough to at least joke around. He would catch something today.

He had to.

First in order, Gen slung the bow over his shoulder and walked as silently as he could, avoiding dry and crunchy leaves to check on their forgotten trap. Sadly, the rain must have knocked over a loose branch, as it hung dangling in the air instead of what could have been an animal. He huffed in irritation, but had to move on with it. Gen only had four arrows, and he expected to chase after each one to reuse them. He listened in closely to the sounds of the forest. Birds were chirping and chittering all around him, in harmony with the soft rustling of the leaves. Too bad he could not enjoy the serenity of it, focused on figuring out how to approach his next move.

If he shot an arrow, regardless if he missed it or not, the sound and air pressure would startle the surrounding birds, making them fly away in fear. Again, he couldn't ponder over it for too long and just had to do it.

Gen tiptoed over to a bush in good proximity to a tree where he actually saw a couple of birds, and crouched. Staying decently hidden but exposed enough for his arrow not to catch on anything, he drew the bow like he did yesterday, ignoring the strain in his arms and back muscles. His eyes locked on one elegant brown bird in particular that sat still. Holding his breath, he tried to aim. He didn't know the species, or anything about it really. But Senku gave him an 'ok' for anything and everything so he figured he'd worry later. A few long minutes passed, and Gen released the arrow, watching its projectile.