Stop lying to me {A skephalo love story}

1

"We need more herbs, berries and fish," Clay spoke whilst writing a list. "What happened to the berries that we farmed?"
"They froze,"
"Even the tree fruit?"
"Yep,"
"Wouldn't the ones in the forest and fields be frozen too?"
"Darryl, there's a chance that they might not be if you find some that aren't frozen then take them. You're the gatherer." Clay handed Darryl a list as he slipped on his backpack. As Darryl took it he looked out into the forest, then into the sky. "It's going to storm later on so get back quickly," Clay added. Darryl nodded, he felt a little nervous as this was his first time in a long time going out alone and Clay noticed this. "I can ask Ant to come with you? This is your first time in a while going by yourself after all,"
"No no! It's fine! He has a job now and so do I. I can manage,"
"Great. Also, watch out, Callahan saw signs of another clan. I think members from the Ponto clan have been sneaking into our land again." Darryl nodded.

He closed the gate behind him and brushed the frost off his gloves. Looking into the forest in the distance, he made a mental note of his surroundings as his compass had broken. Walking through the forest always made him feel calm. Due to it being winter there weren't too many animals around apart from a couple of deer and a few owls, the only time he had to worry about animals was during nightfall, when all of the dangerous and cruel creatures came to life. Along the way to the lake, he picked up some herbs and a few handfuls of berries. A little bit of snow would fall now and then due to trees giving way under its weight. It made him happy every time he saw a small flower hiding in a crevice somewhere, it made him appreciate the strength of all the little things surrounding him.

Once done collecting everything he made his way to the lake where the, already carved out, fishing hole was. He placed down his bag beside him and took out his lunch: cooked meat from the night before, a small handful of rice, a few vegetables and berries. Whilst eating he felt like someone was watching him. Once finished eating he got up and walked around the lake, hoping to prove himself wrong by not finding anyone, which he didn't. After getting back to his stuff, he took out a small fishing rod and some bait. After reeling in about 20 fish he decided to give his hand a break. Walking towards the other side of the lake, he felt confident. The ice had always been thick during winters and he had done this so often that he controlled himself to not slip. This confidence quickly faded away after heard the ice crack. Slowly he removed the weight from his left foot as he looked down at the crack underneath it. His heart began to pound and he began to sweat as fear settled in. There was a snowstorm the day before! How could the ice be this thin? He only had one chance to make it out of here, either try and walk off the ice or fall in and drown. He turned back to where he thought the ice was thicker. The ice shattered beneath him and he fell in. He gasped for air whilst trying to grab onto the surrounding ice, his hands slipping off each time due to the water. In the last attempt, he shouted and cried, "HELP!" no response. He hoped that the gut feeling he had earlier was true and he had just not found them. Slowly he began to sink, "This is the end. I'm going to die," he thought as he closed his body was surrounded by the icy water.