The Hunting

Chapter 12

When we walked back into camp, everyone greeted us. As I handed my stuff back to Calum, Don's eyes lit up when he saw what all we caught. He spoke, "That is more than we have ever caught!"

Calum huffed, "Arden caught most of it."

Nate's head whipped around to Don and Pietra, "See I told you! You owe me."

Pietra scowled as Don groaned, "Yeah, yeah I know."

I raised my eyebrows, "Did I miss something?"

Nate explained, "While you were all gone, we made a bet on who would catch the most. I had you, Pietra had Calum, and Don had Javier."

I smirked as I looked over to Calum. He must've known what I was thinking because shook his head.

Nate continued, "We bet a foot rub on this. Whoever was the winner would have the other two rub their feet. What did you catch?"

I spoke up, "I got three rabbits and three squirrels. Do I not get a foot rub out of this? I mean... I was the one that caught the food anyways."

Nate chuckled, "Nope, only for those that are smart enough to bet get the foot rub."

I grumbled as I walked over to a stump to start cleaning and de-skinning our catches. Nate, Don, and Javier came over to help me as Calum and Pietra went to "look" for firewood.

That night, was one of the best nights we've had since we left. When Calum and Pietra got back we started working on dinner and the jerky. Calum, believe it or not, sew together the various hides to make a makeshift blanket. Pietra and Don gave Nate his foot rub, which was hilarious to watch because Nate is known for his stinky feet. Maybe that's why he has never kept a girlfriend for very long. Javier, Calum, and I laughed while Don and Pietra tried not to puke from being close to Nate's feet. Before we all turned in for the night, Calum started to go over the plan.

Calum cleared his throat as Don and Nate were laughing at something Javier said. "Okay everyone, tomorrow we are going to be out on the prairie. There is little to no shelter or anywhere to hide which makes us have a giant target on our backs. Scavengers often scourge the land for dead or weak things, so we need to be on our toes. Before we leave, we will sharpen our weapons and gather as many supplies as we can before we head out there. I remember there being a couple of small streams, so we can refill water now and then if they haven't dried up, so be light on your drinking. Are there any questions?"

Words spewed out of my mouth before I could even stop to think, "So after the prairie, we will be in the canyons? How many days will it take to cross the canyons? Will we need to go hunting in the morning before we leave to stock up? At night what are we going to do? Are we going to sleep or are we going to go until we find a decent place to sleep?"

By the end of my questioning a couple of people were holding back their laughter, one was glaring, and the other's face remained passive as always. Calum sighed running his hand through his hair, "I should've guessed you would have questions, Arden. To answer them yes, there will be a slow transition from prairie to canyons. It will take about a week or two until we get to the entrance to the canyons and another couple of days to the spot where Remington was taken. Hunting in the morning won't be a bad idea, you, Javier, and I can go and hunt at sunrise to try and get a couple of more animals before we head out. Out there, there are very little animals except for small mice and prairie dogs. We will stop for the night when we find a good place to rest, but some nights that not be until late. Sometimes I can assure you that we won't be getting any sleep."