Chapter 2: Sentient bracelets aren’t the weirdest thing in this forest
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The forest was dark and Andrew couldn't see the sky through the thick trees that surrounded him. His heart was racing. He had no idea where he was and could see no signs of his friends or the man anywhere. He couldn't even see any signs of people. He knew that wherever he was it was the bracelet's fault as he had seen the jewel on it glowing the same time he was forced out of the black void without using the portal. His only reassurance was that he hopefully had gotten out of whatever that man's plans with him were.
Andrew couldn't convince himself completely that he was better off here than with the man. He had almost no survival experience. Sure he had seen a few TV shows and read a few articles about camping and survival but he was stuck here with no tools. He hadn't even been carrying his school supplies. All he had was his wallet and the clothes he was wearing.
Andrew tried to remember what he should do in a survival situation. Shelter first? A fire would be good. Fresh food and water next. There was plenty of wood for a shelter and a fire. The forest looked very green so there had to be water somewhere so food was going to be the problem long term. He had no idea how to set up traps or make weapons to kill an animal. He was also worried about poisonous plants and berries.
Andrew felt something drawing his attention. It was the bracelet. He felt as if it was apologizing to him. "Why did you do that?" He asked it but received no reply, just apology. Did it not understand English? Maybe it only could communicate through emotion? That didn't explain how the others were "told" the names of their bracelets. He couldn't even be sure if it could feel his emotions.
Andrew decided to try. As he was angry so directed that at the bracelet. The sense of apology got stronger and added a new emotion.
Help. It wanted to help.
How could it help? He directed confusion at it.
It responded with what he felt was that it wanted him to trust it.
He wasn't sure what to make of it, had no idea what it could do, or even how smart it was. For now, he felt he should do what he could himself and if the bracelet helped then that would be something.
Andrew looked more closely at the forest around him. He guessed it was still day as it would be completely dark here if it wasn't. He knew he had to hurry and began looking for a clearing. It would expose him but would give him more light to work with for longer.
To his surprise he found one in less than half an hour. It was mid-afternoon so he still had a few hours to work in the light. Like everything else he had no idea what the weather was like here, how cold it got at night, or what lived here so he decided a shelter would be his priority.
While he was building his shelter Andrew became more and more certain of something. Everything here, including himself, felt lighter than it should have and he could even jump higher. It sort of made sense to him that being on a different planet would have effects like this. The higher jumping was cool but had to stop himself after he hit his head on a low tree branch.
By nightfall, he had managed to build a lean-to. It exposed him more than he would like but would at least keep the rain off of him thanks to the generous layer of leaves and branched he had piled on top and to the sides.
He had also managed to collect a large pile of dry wood. Andrew stared at the pile of wood and wondered how he would be able to start it. He thought about rubbing sticks together but couldn't imagine how he would ever be able to do it properly. If only he had a magnifying glass.
The bracelet got his attention. It glowed briefly and a flame appeared in the air above it before shooting into the pile of wood. The pile immediately started to burn and had soon engulfed the whole stack.
"Whoa..." Andrew said.
The bracelet was feeling proud. Andrew directed thanks towards it and from the bracelet he felt slight embarrassment but mostly pride.
Andrew was amazed by the change in the bracelet. Ever since they had separated from the man its emotions had improved considerably. It still seemed depressed most of the time and there was always a sadness but it seemed to be trusting him more and felt its loneliness grow weaker.
He wished he could talk to it. He felt lonely too. He had been so spoiled by Isaac's company and hadn't missed the feeling. The last two years of college had been the best of his life.
For one he had finally gotten out of the foster care system and even though he had struggled at first juggling work and college he had found the freedom to be more than worth it. He had also rented an apartment with Isaac and being so close to his friend had been great, even though Lisbeth had been spending time there too.
Andrew felt the bracelet apologize to him. He also felt that it was feeling even more sorrowful, depressed, and lonely. It could only be reacting to his feeling about home? It wasn't the bracelet's fault. He had chosen to come.
The bracelet had even warned him and if anything he was thankful for it. The whole time it had been concerned for him now that he thought about it. He made sure to express this emotion to the bracelet.
Andrew looked to the sky. There was a small red moon passing by overhead. The sky was so beautiful here. "Thank you, bracelet, for taking care of me."
The next morning Andrew woke with a grumbling stomach. Today's mission was to find food and water.
"I suppose you aren't good at finding food are you?" he said to the bracelet. The bracelet gave no reply, though he could tell it was worried about his hunger.
An hour later Andrew found a small stream. He gratefully took a drink from it and felt reinvigorated. He also felt encouraged as he now had a path to follow. If he followed this it would lead to an even bigger river or lake. There he hoped his chances of finding people would go up or at least make it easier to find food.
For now, he looked around the stream to see if he could find anything edible. There weren't any bushes with fruit or berries so he tried digging up plants in hopes he could find edible tubers or roots. He showed promising specimens to the bracelet but it was as lost as he was as to how edible they were. Ultimately he washed the most promising specimens and then shoved them in his pockets and would try cooking them over a fire.
Minutes later he had a small fire going. He found out only one of the fatter tubers was remotely edible and he found and cooked several more of it. The taste was nothing to speak of but he felt better after eating it. He would have to remember what it looked like. The bracelet seemed relieved that he had gotten something to eat.
For the next several days Andrew followed the stream before he came upon a small lake. The stream he had been following joined it from the side and he could see a larger river that fed the lake. He wondered if he should camp here for a few days and try to fish or keep moving.
He decided to works some more on tools as he had been experimenting with twigs and sticks while he had traveled. His only good project was his club, which consisted of a large stick that was heavy on one end. He had also tried making hooks but hadn't gotten anywhere.
"You sure you don't know how to fish?" He asked the bracelet.
***
The last few days with it had been uneventful. For most of the day, he focused on surviving and it had been quiet although its emotions had seemed to have grown less negative and more detached.
Andrew began to make camp near the river bank. Despite help from the tubers he could tell he was losing weight and was feeling weaker every day. If he could get some fish he felt his chances would get better. At the very least there seemed to be a lot of tubers here and other plants that might be better food.
"Is it just me or are the trees here really tall?" This was Andrew's first look at the scope of the forest. He had suspected it for a while now but it was hard to tell in the forest itself but here he could finally get a good view of them. Most weren't giant redwood tall but some were close. They were also skinnier than what he would expect from trees their size.
Two days into his time at the lake he had come no closer to catching a fish. He sat on the shore and played with a large caterpillar he had found. The bracelet was not very fond of his new food source and even now he could feel its disgust. He too had been disgusted but once he had gotten past the texture they weren't too bad. He enjoyed the crunchy ones the most.
Suddenly he was pinned to the ground and he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. He couldn't see what had pinned him to the ground but he could hear breathing from whatever had him. Both he and the bracelet were terrified. He was going to be eaten. Any moment now his neck would be snapped.
Just as suddenly the mouth released his neck and he felt the animal jump off from his back. He rolled towards the water and hoped he would be able to escape from it that way but before he got very far the ground in front of him erupted and made a wall that blocked his path. It was mostly sand and he was sure he could break through it but he doubted he could escape from something that could do this.
Andrew turned around to see what was going to kill him. There were three large wolves. They had thick brown fur and green eyes and, even though they were bigger than normal wolves, they were more lightly built. To Andrew's surprise, the bracelet's fear lessened a little. And judging from the fact they hadn't moved in to kill him he might still have a chance.
The wolves studied him.
"Nice wolves," Andrew said.
Balls of fire appeared around the wolves. Fire just like what the bracelet made. Were they going to kill him this way instead of by biting him? He wasn't sure which he would rather die from, fire or teeth.
The wolves surrounded him. What were they waiting for? He could tell they were wary of him but also seemed to be studying him. Finally, they opened a path for Andrew, before one looked at him then pointed with its paw in that direction and ran off. It looked back at him then disappeared into the forest. They wanted to take him somewhere. The two with him still had fire floating around them so he still didn't feel safe. Andrew wiped some of the blood off of his neck from his bite wound and began walking.
A few hours later Andrew stepped out of the forest. Not too far away he saw a village. Several wolves were waiting for him at its edge. It was very confusing to him that wolves would have their own village. They didn't have thumbs so how could they build things? Had they taken over a village?
The bracelet seemed amused by his confusion.
He was led to a medium-sized hut at the edge of the village. One of the wolves pushed the door open and he went inside. It was what could only be a prison. There were several small metal cages one of which was open.
Without being told he walked to it, climbed in, then shut the door.
"Happy?" Andrew said to the wolves.
They looked at each other then back to him. He could have sworn one was laughing. Another shook its head and approached the cage.
The wolf began to distort and change shape and moments later a man stood in front of him.
"Werewolves!?" Andrew backed as far as he could into the cage.
The man looked at him and began fiddling with a thick length of chain. He then tied the door shut with it and then connected it to a post. When he was finished he moved to the side of the room and leaned against the wall.
Another wolf approached him. It fur graying due to age and one of its right eye was cloudy. It spoke to him. Andrew could not tell what language it was speaking.
"Greeting from Earth. I come in peace. Take me to your leader." Andrew said.
Andrew felt the bracelet draw his attention. It gave him the impression that the leader was curious about him. The bracelet could understand what the wolf was saying?
"Andrew," Andrew said and pointed to himself.
The wolf looked at him then repeated, "Andrew." The wolf sat on its haunches and put its paw on its chest, "Chisa."
This was going to be annoying. Andrew had never tried learning another language before. He wished he had something to draw with, that would help. He pointed to himself, "Andrew," Then to the wolf, "Chisa."
The wolf turned to the others then, a few moments later, back to Andrew. Andrew and Chisa studied each other for a few minutes. Chisa seemed to be interested in the bracelet and watched it more than Andrew.
Two men appeared by the door. They were holding a bed which held a wolf. The wolf on the bed was covered in bandages, with the worst on its back. It held its head up weakly and looked around before dropping it. Andrew wondered why they would be bringing such an injured wolf here for. Sure he knew a little first aid but he wasn't sure what more he could do to help.
The men placed the bed on the ground between Andrew and Chisa.
Chisa spoke again.
When he finished Andrew paid attention to the bracelet. He didn't feel anything from it right away but eventually, he found out why. The impression that Andrew got from the bracelet was that if he healed the wolf they might let him live. If he didn't heal it or if it died they would kill him as well.
Andrew studied the injured wolf. He couldn't see the injuries through the bandage but he could tell they were bad. Aside from the large wound on its back, there was one on its face that ran down its left cheek from the temple to just below its eye. Its left leg was bandaged, but because of it he couldn't make out how bad the wound there was, but it didn't seem like it was bad considering it was only lightly stained with blood. If it weren't covered in bandages he guessed it was a very beautiful animal with its dark undercoat and gray fur.
The wolf looked at Andrew with its green eyes. He had expected fear or a plea for help but they showed exhaustion and it was struggling to keep them open. He wanted it to go to sleep. It must be in so much pain.
He also felt uncomfortable touching a wolf while it was awake.
The injured wolf looked from Andrew to his bracelet then back again. Did the wolves know about the bracelets? He had noticed the others eyeing it as well. He wondered how much they knew.
He remembered the man and what he did to the weed. He had healed a nearly dead plant and had said they would be able to do it too.
It made sense that they would bring the wolf to him now. He had no clue what to do with the bracelet other than trade feelings and intentions to an extent but that was it. It did seem to be able to do things on its own like it had been with the campfires.
Andrew directed a desire to heal the wolf to the bracelet. Until then it had seemed to be content on letting him think but now he felt that it had been waiting for him to make the connection. He then got the impression that he should ask the wolves for food. Food was important. He was hungry, that was true but felt asking these wolves for food should wait.
Andrew turned to the old wolf. "Food." He said and pretended to eat. The wolf glanced to another wolf, which ran off, then laid down though kept his gaze on Andrew.
A person entered the tent a few minutes later and was carrying a wooden bowl. The man placed the bowl just out of Andrew's reach. The bowl then began to float and settled down next to him.
Andrew grabbed the bowl and eagerly drank the meat stew that was inside. The fact that someone had levitated it to him only mildly surprised him. He laughed to himself at the thought that levitating bowls were only mildly surprising to him now. He wondered if the bracelet could do it too. He felt it could.
A little while after Andrew had finished eating the stew he felt the bracelet get his attention.
He felt that it was uncertain and worried but it made sure he understood one thing. Whatever he was going to do was going to make him extremely exhausted. He reassured the bracelet that he was willing to go through with whatever needed to be done. As he felt the best he had in days thanks to the stew and it was better to do things sooner than later.
He reached towards the injured wolf. The old wolf immediately stood up and several more entered the building, all with fire floating and ready. The bracelet had told him he needed to touch the wolf to do whatever it was going to do. It had triggered his memory of the man touching the weed before he healed it. Andrew had paused but looked at wolf in turn before placing his hand on its fur.
Andrew awoke sometime later. The last thing he remembered was his strength suddenly leaving his body as soon as his hand had touched the injured wolf. He still felt very weak, the weakest he had in his whole life, and was extremely hungry. He could move but felt he would have to use something to support himself to stand.
The bracelet flooded Andrew with relief. He could still feel its worry but it was fading.
He directed gratitude towards it and felt it thank him.
Somehow he felt he was more connected to the bracelet and could communicate with it more easily now. This made him happy. He didn't know what or who this bracelet was but he felt he could trust it.
The door to the prison opened and a man carrying a tray entered followed by two others with fire at the ready. This time they gave him more food than they had previously. Whatever the bracelet had done must have done something good.
The injured wolf hadn't moved but somehow seemed better. It was sleeping but he could tell its breathing was less labored. Other than that he wasn't sure if it was any closer to death or getting better. He had hoped the bracelet would heal it in one go but as far as he could tell there was still a ways to go.
***
Andrew soon found himself in a new routine. His captors would feed him, the bracelet would do its work, Andrew would nearly pass out, he would rest for a few hours then repeat. He did this for a week before the injured wolf looked noticeably better.
He had also lost even more weight despite being fed generously but in turn, had saved the wolf. It was still too injured to move around much but it wasn't going to die.
"Rah'asu." The injured wolf said.
It had noticed Andrew studying it. This was the first time he had heard it speak so was startled.
It used its uninjured paw and pointed to itself, "Rah'asu."
"Andrew," Andrew said and pointed to himself. He pointed to Rah'asu, "Rah'asu."
The wolf nodded, "Rah'asu," it pointed to Andrew, "Andrew," then the bracelet.
Andrew looked at the bracelet. He still didn't know its name. He hadn't thought much about it, bracelets usually didn't have names, but now that he was thinking about it he was going to pester it until it told him.
The bracelet responded with embarrassment. It didn't want to tell him its name because it was embarrassed. He could tell it had been hoping he had forgotten.
"Shimeirin," Andrew said but sighed. The other bracelets had given names in English. He didn't want to push it anymore for now as he had at least something to call it other than 'bracelet.'
I know I just started posting this story but as it and my other story are already finished and just need to be posted I feel I should take this time to start on a new project or continue this or the Salis story. I've posted a poll on my patreon so I can get a better idea of what my readers want. You don't have to be a patron to vote. All the chapters, except for the final, for this story are posted there for Patrons, though not edited as well.I'll leave the poll up for a week or so so please let me know which.
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