Ugh. I feel like I was hit by a truck. Jack thought as he woke up, And why does it feel like I'm laying on the ground?
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Huh, that's because I am. He was being awfully calm about this, which was definitely not how he should be reacting to this, since his last memory was of...something. Definitely not lying on the grass though. Maybe I'm in shock? I am having a hard time feel... well anything about the fact I'm waking up in a strange place.
After attempting histrionics to make himself worry about his situation, he decided that he might as well take advantage of his detachment and take stock of his situation.
After looking around a bit, Jack determined that he was in a field, in God knows where, with no buildings in sight. He had no idea how he got there or why he was there. He ruled out kidnapping, since he wasn't tied up or injured (as far he could tell given the fact he didn't have a mirror) although he felt like he had been run over by a very large m0ving object that had been recklessly and irresponsibly piloted. He also didn't feel hung over or sick so he doubted that's how he ended up in this mess. There weren't even tire tracks hinting that he had been dropped off here by a car. How the hell did I get here? Well I guess I better find some trace of civilization, since I have no idea how I'm going survive otherwise.
He looked around. Field, more field, even more field... oh, are those hills, or maybe small mountains? He was in a large area of grasslands, ringed by mountains in the distance. Apparently, he had pretty bad luck or something, since as far as he could tell, the mountains were not closer in one direction than another. Since the only thing other than endless grasslands were those hills, Jack decided to start walking towards them. Maybe he could find a cave or something to sleep in if worse came to worst.
...
Several hours later Jack was getting dispirited. It turns out the hills were much further away then he had thought and after walking for what felt like ages (definitely a few hours), Jack's indifferent attitude was quickly turning sour. Things were really starting to annoy him, like how did he end up here? And why does this grass trip him up so much (the grass was relatively short, even though it wasn't cut or anything, but it still hid holes and trenches that loved to trip him up, he was worried he was about to sprain an ankle or something).
After another hour or two of walking (and a short break) Jack was feeling rather sulky. The only thing he had to cheer himself up was that he had also reached the hills. Unfortunately, it was getting late and Jack was pretty sure he only had another hour or two of sunlight. He was also still trying to figure out how he got here. I'm starting to feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone or something. I mean like honestly is this some sort of government experiment?
"Hey government people! You there? I swear to God if you don't answer me right now I'm going to sue you into oblivion for this!" He yelled. When no one responded he sighed. "Yeah, no one would reply anyway. So that did nothing." Then, after a pause, "AND, now I'm talking to myself. Fantastic."
Deciding he had let himself get distracted long enough, he went back to the task at hand. I guess I better find some shelter to spend the night. And some water, I definitely need water. Food wouldn't hurt but I could probably survive the night without eating. If I can find some wood, maybe I can start a fire? A cave or sheltered overhang would work pretty well for that purpose.
After some searching, Jack stood in front of a cave. Wow, I am lucky. I can't believe there is actually a cave, and better yet, its empty. After going inside, and finding that the cave goes back pretty far while still being relatively accessible (as he had to duck underthings and crawl at one point, but never to the point of even having to worry about getting stuck. Jack decided that it would make a good shelter for the night. Better yet, there was some water in the chamber, dripping from the ceiling. Jack was pretty sure that meant it was safe, and he was severely dehydrated from his trek that day, so he wasn't about to be picky.
Despite that, when he took a sip of the water, he almost spat it out. It tasted terrible, like metal. He thought he remembered hearing about how that was because of the minerals the water had picked up when going through the rock and the water was safe, so he continued drinking. After spending some time drink all the water dripping from the ceiling, Jack decided to go to sleep. He was pretty sure it was dark out, and the cave was still pretty warm, so he hoped it would stay that way. Lucky for him, it did and the next morning he drank some more cave water before leaving the cave.
After safely exiting the cave, he was torn on what to do. He could try traveling more and hoping he found some sign of human civilization, or he could try to survive as a caveman. Thinking about it like that made his decision quick and easy. I'm no caveman. And so, he continued looking for anything that would lead him to salvation. Unfortunately, even after climbing to the top of the highest hill he could find he didn't see anything that resembled a house or any other type of building. Maybe I am destined to be a caveman, he thought dejectedly. If I can start a fire, maybe I could catch one of those bats in my... no that cave and cook it up. It's been at least a day since I last ate and I'm starving.
Looking around the hills some more, Jack found what he was looking for: a dead tree. It stood alone on the top of a nearby hill. It was split down the middle and blackened after being hit by lightning, and branches had broken off the tree and were scattered nearby. Since it was close, he walked to it. Seeing one of the branch fallen from the tree, he went to pick it up, thinking he use it to make a tool or weapon. As soon as his hand touched it, however, it glowed and a strange feeling shot up his arm into his body, causing him to shiver.
What just happened? He thought as he stumbled back, more from surprise than fear, and let go of the no longer glowing stick. His stumbling back caused him to brush against another branch, which did the same thing. Is this tree haunted or something? What was going on, it hadn't hurt him so far, in fact, he felt the best he had since he awoke in that field the previous day. His hunger... wasn't gone, but it wasn't as acute either. Is this feeding me? he wondered as he grabbed at another branch.
After absorbing(?) from all the branches, Jack could confirm that they were indeed feeding him. His hunger and thirst were completely gone, and the ache in his legs from all the walking he had done the day before was greatly reduced. When he tried to absorb from the tree, he felt some sort of resistance, like he just wasn't strong enough to take from the tree yet.
His work being done, he left the tree, though he was sure to pick up a sturdy stick in case he needed it. He still wasn't sure where he was going, but that was okay, since he now knew he could feed himself with tree branches and he could guess he could do the same with other things. So he simply walked towards the next tree he saw in the distance.
