Chapter 6: A squirrel?
111 1 5
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

     'Well, nearly freezing to death is at least a more pleasant experience than nearly boiling to death.'

     Standing up she continued to walk down the stream. Most of her body is some shade of red but the tips of her fingers and toes are a pale purple along with her ears.

     Eating the last of the goblin meat wasn't pleasant but it did its job. She needs to find more food soon. But she doesn't have the strength or stamina to hunt.

     She has the basic things needed for a trap around but before she does that she needs a place safe from the elements tonight. She can hardly feel the tips of her toes and if she goes through another night like last night, it might not just be her toes she can't feel.

     So she kept walking, no matter how hungry or tired she got. There was no sound of singing, only the squishing of wet leaves and crunching of frost under her feet. She couldn't tell how far she had walked.

     Eventually she found a spot. It was a good one too, a large hole in the ground. Long enough to lay in and was deeper in one end then the other. The higher end you could stand in and you would still be waist deep.

     Looking to the sky, she still had an hour or two left. So she gathered wood from a nearby dead tree. The wood was wet but it was better than nothing. She tried looking for dead grass or something dryer but no luck.

     Grabbing all the leaves she could, she went back to her hole in the ground. Grabbing the driest wood she could find and a small stick she started rubbing them together.

     Her hands were in pain and the wood wouldn't light, but she didn't give up. Even when the sky turned a dark red she kept going. Her hands were cut up and the temperature was starting to drop but she kept rubbing those sticks together.

     Finally, she saw a spark, and a few sparks turned into a flame. She dried the leaves next to the fire. She started working on her traps using the string and some sticks. She only made one before she collapsed from sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

     When she woke, the fire was out and it was midday. Looking at her hands. She saw they were covered in dry blood but the very tips of her fingers looked like open blisters and she could tell bits and pieces were missing but they at least looked better than her toes.

     She got up and brought arm-fulls of wood to the pit and made a small roof with the longest ones. Whenever her feet touched the ground they throbbed with pain and she had to be careful when she picked up wood so it didn't touch the tips of her fingers.

     She set the trap a short walk from her camp. She found some type of small black berries on short bushes. She didn't recognize them but decided to take a chance. Grabbing a few she popped them into her mouth. They were nice and bitter-sweet, they were good. While she was up she also drank some water.

     She put more of the berries into her pocket and walked back to her camp. Sitting in front of her dead fire she used the dried leaves to start it once again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

     It was late at night when she heard it. A frantic squawking and the sound of wings flapping.

     When she got to the trap she saw a large bird but this time she could tell what it was, a duck.

     When she tried to go near it it started charging at her and trying to bite her. Whenever she actually got hold of it it would break free from her grip.

      "I wish you would just die!"

      She said it out of frustration. Frustrated about the situation, how much pain she was in, how hungry she was and tired she felt.

     But then it just stopped. It stopped squawking, it stopped flailing around, it stopped, but it didn't last long. It soon started its fight against the trap once more.

     "*sigh*... I don't even know what I expected. "

     She turned back and walked to camp. Hopefully she would be able to get it when it tired itself out.

     Leaning against the dirt walls of her pit. She watched the fire's coals crackle and burst. She ate more of the black berries and because they hadn't done anything to suggest they were poisonous she had all her coat pockets filled with them.

     She hadn't realized before but there's only one moon in the sky. That's when she realized she may not be in the same world as before. In her last word there were three and a half moons.

     Bet you're wondering about the half moon, huh? Well that came about because of a crazy wizard's dream, he had always wanted to blow up all of the moons.

     'Hummm~, I'm gonna miss that crazy old bat.'

     Also, because of the moons it was always too bright to see the stars.

'But I will say they are pretty.'

     The night had always been bright but she must say, she liked the darkness.

     'Though I guess there's always the possibility that someone got rid of the other moons. I wonder what that old burger would do if he found out.'

     She could almost forget what she had gone through for a second. She'd already gone through so much in just a few days. It was time to get some sleep, as her eyes were starting to feel heavy.

     'Damn humans sleep a lot.'

     In the morning, she checked on the duck. It was wheezing, and didn't move the same way it did before. It had a hard time standing straight, like its center of balance kept changing, even when it wasn't moving.

     It couldn't put up the same fight it had the night before. Once she got hold of its neck, she broke it, but she couldn't help but think of its odd beaver. Even if it was tiered it shouldn't haveacted the way it did. It was almost like it was drunk or something.

     Well she was too tired and mentally exhausted to think any more.

     She hung the bird upside-down in a tree after twisting off its neck, pulling its feathers, and removing its organs. She had to wait for an hour or two before she could cook it. So she picked berries for a while and actually found some mushrooms. To what she could tell, it was the good kind.

     She cooked some of the duck with the mushrooms and berries. It didn't taste all that good but it was definitely better than the goblin.

     Her feet and hands have only gotten worse since that cold night. They smell horrible, and honestly she's getting pretty worried. Some of her toe nails have fallen off and she's realized most of her ears are missing as well.

     'Soon, I might not be able to walk anywhere anymore. It hurts so much...'

     Laying on her back she started to wander into her own world to distract herself from the pain.

     Her life has not been easy since she was reborn.

    'Heh, has it ever been easy? I guess I forgot how difficult life was after I fell asleep and went without any pain for 17 years.'

     Closing her eyes she thought about everything she'd gone through before. From the things that hurt to the times she almost died laughing. When she discovered the system and its... handicaps. It wasn't all powerful, it had trade offs.

     Shaking her head, she immediately regretted it. Her ears had rubbed against the walls of dirt. She jerked her head away and groaned in pain.

     'I wonder where this life will lead.'

     She threw more wood into the fire. It was still light out but she was going to sleep. It's been difficult to sleep because of the pain but at least now she was full.

     It was early morning when she woke for the hundredth time, but this time the forest was quiet. No chirping of birds or chattering of loud animals.

     Straining her ears to pick up any sound, the faint sound of footsteps become more apparent. It sounded like two, maybe three bipedal creatures. One was heavier then the other or others.

     Reaching for the sturdier looking stick, her fingers scream in pain out of protest. She was trembling, she wouldn't be able to protect herself, if she were to try and fight she would likely die. Hardening herself she looked to where the sound was coming from.

     A young man with light brown hair and red eyes looked over the dirt walls of her pit. The instant he saw her, he looked horrified.

     "Mia, Philip unload the sled-! now! U-umm ma'am can you hear me? I don't think you should be out here... it's going to get really cold soon! Can you stand?"

     He started rapid firing questions, her unamused face was evidence enough to how she felt.

     She slowly began to stand, the man reached out to support her but she slapped his hand away.

     Needless to say she immediately regretted the decision, her hand flooded with pain and to add insult to injury she stumbled and he had to catch her before she fell.

     "You should let people help sometimes, you know?"

5