Hidden

The Hunt

(A/N: Okay so I probably should've waited a bit but I'm impatient so here it is a double update on the first day! Please vote to let me know if you like it(if anyone actually reads it in the first place.) Enjoy and comment!)

My eyelids flutter open as dawn breaks. the first thing I am hit with is the hunger gnawing away at my insides as my stomach grumbles loudly. I consider going back down the same way I came up but I know that the branch I jumped from is too weak to withhold the strain of me landing in it. the lowest branch on the tree is still a few metres from the ground but the drop is manageable, I think. I make my down so I am sitting on a branch just above said branch. I place my foot on the branch and lean into it cautiously, testing it's strength. It holds as I increase the pressure and I quickly slide down so I am hanging from it by my hands. My feet dangle almost two metres from the ground and I try to think of a way to get down easily. As I shift my weight slightly I hear a crack and the branch I am clinging to comes crashing down.

I manage to land squarely on my feet but the force of the impact sends pain shooting from my feet up through my legs. I stumble back and fall, landing on my ass. I take a few minutes to catch my breath, collect my thoughts and rest my legs.

Once I am ready I get up, tightening the straps of my backpack as I set off in search of food. I begin to hear the sounds of wildlife scurrying through the underbrush so I dig through my backpack and pull out my daggers, or my attempt at making a dagger. I sharpened stones to a point before tying them to a stick with a piece of twine, not the most professional but it works. I have become much better at catching animals throughout my time living in the wilderness so I know what to do by now.

I crouch down so I am sitting on my hind legs. Once I am sure my balance is steady I lift my arm up with one of the daggers held firmly in it. Then I wait....

My legs soon begin to burn but I hold myself as still as possible and listen for any sound that will give away my prey. Even the quietest sound will send them scurrying in the opposite direction so I stay still and wait.

After what seems like an eternity I hear the slightest rustle of leaves as a rabbit scurries across them. My muscles tense up, readying for the kill. As the rabbit comes into view and I pull my arm back before letting the dagger fly free from my hand and pierce the rabbit straight through its heart, killing it instantly. A second rabbit follows it and I hurry to throw a dagger. my aim is slightly off and it hits it's leg, bringing it down but failing to do anything but hurt it. I quickly put it out of its misery before retrieving my knives and stowing them in my backpack.

I wander about searching for firewood and kindling then set it in a pile and begin the strenuous task of making a flame from bashing two rocks against each other. I am glad I finally learned how to make a fire because although a vegetarian diet may work when you have a shop down the road to supply all your beds it is a lot more difficult scavenging the wilderness and even then our meals leave you unsatisfied and hungry.

A couple minutes of rock bashing later and I have made a spark. I add some moss to the fire to get it started and set about skinning and gutting the rabbits, not exactly the most pleasant thing to do. the amount of meat left on the skin is just a thin sliver but it seems a sin to waste but I have never really been good at skinning animals and my handmade dagger is crude at best making it hard to make a clear cut. I impale both rabbits on a stick before setting up a spit to roast them on. The smell of burning meat makes my mouth begin to water and I realise how thirsty I am. I grab a canteen out of my backpack and allow a small trickle of water to run into my mouth, savouring every last drop of it before snapping the canteen shut again. Rationing.

By the time I have managed to get the meat to cook fully through it is only slightly charred at the edges. I rip off a chunk of it before wrapping the rest of it in moss in an attempt to keep it warm or at least partly fresh. I stuff it in my backpack, I have to start making tracks. I am still much too close to civilisation for my liking. i start to trek through the forest, munching on the meat as I go. It calms the monstrous hunger in my stomach, for the moment.