Flashf0rward

Chapter 1: Hunting Season

Ivy

The deer leaned down and began to nibble at the tall stalks of grass that had grown in the forest, its horns leaning over its head as it grazed slowly. Then, it suddenly stood up straight, its eyes widening as its head cocked to one side and stood deathly still. It suddenly leaped to one side and off into the woods, my arrow just missing it as it leaped away. "Damn it." I muttered under my breath as I sighed and got up. That had been a waste of time.

Walking over to the arrow that was in the ground, I yanked it out of the soil, thankful that the tip wasn't broken as I put it back into the quiver. Those things took way too long to make, and it would suck if I broke another one. Then, I leaned down to take a look at the tracks. It wasn't moving too fast, and I could follow it if I took a slow enough pace. But I wasn't about to waste another hour looking for this thing.

Sighing, I wondered if this whole thing was just a waste of time as I brushed some of my copper-red hair behind my ear. I knew that we needed food, but we had plenty back at home. I knew what he would say though, and I groaned out loud. "Fine, fine." I said to myself as I placed my bow around my shoulder and began to walk slowly through the brush.

At least this whole trip wasn't a total loss. I had gotten some more firewood, and I'd managed to find where the deer were making their home for the season. Spring had officially sprung, which meant more animals were finally coming out of hibernation and back into the wild. The winter had been tough on all of us, but hopefully this new year would lend us some new food as well.

As I walked through the brush, I heard something rustle in the trees ahead of me. Pulling out my bow and notching an arrow quickly, I aimed it at the brush and held my breath, not moving an inch. If I scared this thing again, I would honestly just give up and go home. As the brush parted however, it revealed something I didn't expect: a wolf. Its dark grey fur and white belly shone in the sunlight. However, it became much less beautiful when it turned to me and began to growl.

I had never encountered an animal like this before in the wild, but thankfully I knew what to do. Slowly putting my bow and arrow away, I raised my hand. "Easy, easy..." I said in a low voice. The wolf continued growling lowly as it stared me down. I was intruding on its territory, and if I ran, it would chase me down, and I wasn't planning on trying to outrun this thing.

Keeping my hand out, I reached behind me for my backpack, shrugging it gently off my shoulder, then reached down towards it with my other hand, unzipping it slowly. The sound of the zipper made the wolf growl louder and step forwards. Raising my hand again, I looked at him. "Stay..." I said in the most firm voice I could. The wolf begrudgingly didn't move, but kept its eyes on my hand as I reached into the bag.

Rummaging around for it and hoping I still had some, my hand clutched around it and I sighed in relief. Pulling out a small pouch of leaves, I opened it to reveal some dried pieces of meat that we'd made into a kind of jerky and placed it in my open hand, offering it to the wolf. "Want some?" I asked, and put my other hand up, showing I didn't mean any harm.

The wolf stopped growling, and stared at the food in my hand. It slowly walked forwards, keeping me in its sights as it came close to me. Soon, its snout was right up against my open hand. I could feel it sniffing the jerky, testing it. Then, it tentatively took a piece in its mouth, crunching it as it ate the meat. After that, it reached for more, and soon was eating right out of my hand. I smiled and laughed a little at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. I'd never had a dog, but I imagined this was what owning one was like.

"Good boy." I said as he kept eating. Then, as he finished off the last piece, he looked up at me expectantly. Laughing a little, I raised both my hands and shrugged. "Sorry, don't have any more." I said, and he gently nudged my hand as if asking for more. Shaking my head and giggling, I gently stroked his head. He didn't seem to mind, leaning into the petting. He'd probably never felt anything like this before, but I guessed he liked it.

He finally backed off, then looked at me as he started to walk away. Giving me one last look, he entered the brush once again. "See ya, buddy." I said as I got up, wiping my hands together as I sighed and picked up my backpack. He may have eaten my rations, but it was a small price to pay for not getting eaten. I figured that was as much of a sign as any to call it a day. Putting my backpack over my shoulder again, I walked back the way I came, heading out of the woods. As I made it to the outskirts, I saw Fred standing right where I left him.

"Hey Fred. See anything while I was gone?" I asked, and he snorted in return. Placing my quiver on the side of his makeshift saddle, I untied him from the tree and mounted him, grabbing the reins. "Alright, Fred, let's go home. Hyah!" I said as Fred started to gallop back towards where we came from. The woods were only a couple of miles away from home, but Fred could make that pace in record time. He was a good horse, which was why I chose him. He had never let me down once.

A few minutes later, we crested over the hill that marked the small valley we'd chosen to hide ourselves in. It was relatively close to running water, the valley gave us some protection from the elements, and it was on good terrain. Perfect for horseback riding. It had taken me a while to learn, but I'd eventually gotten the hang of it. Before Fred, the only time I'd ridden horseback was at the zoo when I was with my parents. I quickly got rid of that thought before it started to hurt too much. I found myself doing that a lot more these days.

Making Fred canter as we reached the front gates, I saw a familiar face standing guard. She was a lot older than when we first met, but she still had that mischievous look on her face, and the blonde streak in her brown hair was still prominent. Before I was even halfway down the hill, she seemed to disappear from the gate that was about 75 feet away and reappear right beside me. "Hey, Vee. Find anything?" I smiled down at her. "Hey Sparrow. And a couple rabbits, but nothing big. Saw a wolf, though." Raising her eyebrows, Sparrow smiled. "Nice. Well, don't need to ask who you are or anything, so come on in. Welcome back to Sanctuary."

Nodding, I walked Fred beside her as we passed under the large wooden gate that we'd built that connected to the wall made out of logs that we'd managed to gather from the woods around us. A small sign above the gate said: "Sanctuary". He always did have a way with names. "No place like it." I said to myself as Fred and I walked inside, the gates closing behind us.