Chase Thompson
5/2/12
Survive and Thrive
The bright sunlight reflected off the cool pond water and glared at my face. I slowly woke up and felt a bright light shining down on me. I soon realized it wasn’t the sun. It was something man made. I glanced up at it, squinting my eyes from its scolding light. I blocked the light out from my eyes and I looked below it and saw black figures deploying from the light. The wind was unbearable. I slowly stood up as I saw the silhouettes approach my location.
I reached out and grabbed the last bunch of berries in sight. Dangling from one arm I began stuffing them in my pockets. My hand started to sting as I quickly swiped the other hand from my pocket to the only hand grip I could reach. I continued down the mountain until I eventually made it to the ground. I walked to the tree that I built my small makeshift house under. It was made of sticks, leaves, and everything else I could scrounge up before nightfall hit. You can make a house out of many things, but considering I was stuck in the jungle, I only had the materials I could take from my surroundings. If you can find something sturdy that can hold weight, you are really lucky. Swiftly I gathered wood and sticks for the structure and base around the tree. Then I piled on anything that could cover a big area. That included leaves, branches, twigs, and brush. I ate a few berries then got out of my small, dark house. I looked up and gazed at the sun. It was falling down on the west side of the sky. Nightfall was just around the corner. I thought I’d be able to gather some more resources before I was confined to my small house all night, but I had no choice. I needed to stay inside. No one knows exactly what happens around here at night, but from numerous rumors and terrible stories, I wouldn’t want to find out. I got inside and covered the entrance with more leaves and sticks. As I lay down, I thought about the rumors and hoped I would wake up safely in the morning.
The sun shined down into my eyes through the cracks in my house. I started to squint and got up from the cold ground. I uncovered the makeshift door and got out using the sun light to my advantage as much as possible. The intense heat and light from the sun hindered my vision. I put my hand on my forehead like I would to salute and I continued on to collect anything I could before the next nightfall. It is extremely important to use daytime to its full extent. I couldn’t see too far into the distance because of the sun and thick jungle everywhere. The leaves rustled harshly next to me, so I jumped and my head spun to my right faster than humanly possible. My eyes locked onto the bush where the leaves had moved. I saw something big, but other than big, it was indescribable. Its long fur looked dirty and discolored, only the mere edge of it was visible because it was running away behind trees. I was curious, but scared. So, despite my fears, I sprinted over to the tree it ran behind, and searched all around.
Nothing.
I searched in every possible direction and hiding spot however, it just seemed to vanish into thin air. I left the area to continue to use the daylight fully, I had already wasted too much time, but it wasn’t over yet. After encountering whatever that was, I knew that if I were to survive I had better go find something to defend myself and possibly hunt with. In time I found a few wooden planks and stone slabs. I went back to my house and grabbed a rock that was shaped perfectly. I used the rock to sharpen the stone slabs and crack the wood to make the right shape. I carved into the wood so I could put the stone in it and use the sap from the trees as a type of glue to make the wood and stone stay together. I stopped and looked at the weapon. It was perfect to defend against that thing I saw earlier. By this time it was already dark. I lay down on the frigid cold ground and hoped that I wouldn’t get attacked. The leaves covering my house rustled loudly and some fell as if they were rubbed against and pulled off. My eyes opened abruptly and I reached for my sword. Instantly it was in my hand and pointed at the dark shadow lingering outside. My heartbeat sped up faster every second. The figure looked as if it were moving away from my house. I got up and dove outside looking vigorously around to find it. I slowly crept behind my tent and saw…
The creature turned around and looked straight into my eyes. I quickly examined its face and saw that it was covered in paint like camouflage. “No animal is that smart” I thought to myself and it wouldn’t be necessary for an animal. We were only looking at each other for a second, but it was enough time to realize that it was not an animal, it was human. “Hi, can you speak English?” I asked. He stepped back and his expression changed from confused to angry. “Wait, I won’t hurt you, if you don’t hurt me,” I explained. “Why are you here?!” he questioned angrily. “You can talk?” I asked. “Of course, I am human. You haven’t answered my question!” he said. “I was dropped here to die because I used to work for the government after my military training. I was kicked out for an unknown reason, but it was apparently bad enough to drop me out here to die.” I explained. I realized that the supposed animal fur was actually just grass, twigs, leaves, and some real fur. It was a “gillie suit” which is a good camouflage for the jungle. He took a minute to think, then turned around and slightly signaled me with his hand to follow.
We walked for around twenty minutes, yet it seemed like hours, because of the complete silence. I stared into the distance in the direction that we were walking towards. Slowly an open area with something big in the center appeared. As we approached the area, I saw more and more, but it was too much to take in. There were wooden structures supported by beams and pillars. He brought me inside. It wasn’t as good as it looked on the outside, but it was still so much better than my house. We sat down and talked more about why I was there and I learned some things about him. I still didn’t know enough about him, but I didn’t care too much at this point, because he wasn’t going to hurt me. I ended up falling asleep without knowing and woke up lying down on a wooden bed. I quickly jumped to my feet and walked into the main room where we had talked before. I heard something outside so, I went out and saw him shooting an arrow at a target. He looked at me then shot his bow and hit a bull’s eye. I was impressed but as it happened, I heard something in the air. I looked up and slowly saw two helicopters lowering on my area. They knew where I was and they wanted to get me back. I knew if I went with them, they would question me, and most likely try to kill me again. I began to run without thinking and heard something move ahead of me. I stopped to listen, but faster than I could move, a black suited man jumped out from behind a tree and shot a tranquilizer dart. I figured it was all over as my vision blurred and he ran toward me. I fell down and saw the man closest to me fall over. Then everything went black.
TO BE CONTINUED.
