Fire Tenders

2

The first thing I did in the morning was realize how bad of a spot I was in. A fire needs fuel, and there were very few trees to provide wood for a fire in this area, and the scattering of them made for very poor shelter. I managed to pack up as much as I could, even taking a good portion of my hay with me before I started walking again. I continued to follow the river, I knew that eventually these fields gave way to woodlands the closer I got to the mountains. I also knew that if I went too far I would end up in another city, so the question was, do I stay between these two cities or push through the second. There was a risk at being between the two cities, not that there would be anyone running from one end to the other willingly, no, but the chance for raiders got higher the more that time that passed.

I found a place to sit for a while and took in my options. I could find a nice place between the cities and settle in and hope no one came to get me, or I could stay on foot and push through the second city and get closer to the mountains. I looked over towards the peaks in the distance and then around at the grassland and sighed. All of this was parkland, the river was close and I could see the grassland giving way to woodland in the distance, I hadn't been far from the shelter of trees, which was relieving and annoying all at once.

I picked up my stuff and wandered, humming a tune as I walked closer to the forests, the deep green of the coniferous trees welcoming against the blue of the sky. It was strange how easily I managed the first night, despite waking to a dead flame and a realization that I couldn't stay there. I breathed in and continued to wander and sang to myself as grass gave way to brush and bramble, smaller trees and then the tall pines and firs surrounded me. I collected sticks and twigs the deeper I moved into the wooded area. I knew this patch of woods, I had driven past it when I was younger and when cars were still in use. These trees went on for a good long while, so I would be safe here.

I went over the choice of just skipping through the second city and trashed it, these trees were sturdy and would serve as good protection. I spent the next hour looking for a place to set up camp again, finding a good little area close to the water but well hidden. I set my stuff down for the second time and took a seat with a huff. I was hungry, and there was precious little food left that I had managed to gather on the way. The water here was deep, and the flow of the river was calmer so the possibility of fish was higher here than where I had been.

I took a moment to find another flat rock, made another pit and started another fire, watching it burn all over again. I fed it until the flames were hot and I could see coals forming before I went looking for a good stick to turn into a pike. I wondered again if I should think about making myself a net instead, not that it would be of great use, I didn't have anywhere to store fish and no salt to make it worth it. Fishing pike it was, and it wasn't easy to carve one either, funny enough. You would think it would just be whittling down the stick to a point, and you would be right, however witling was not my strong point and I managed to break the stick twice before I actually got a working spear. I celebrated my little win with my spear and tossed off my shoes and headed for the river. I found a place to start and watched the water go by, if I remembered the classes I took in school this river had plenty of fish in it and I should be able to at least catch one.

I spent hours in that river, hopping out of the cold water to warm my legs by the fire when it got too much before going back to continue trying. I missed almost every fish that swam by and my hunger was no longer something I could ignore. Maybe leaving the city behind had been a mistake, maybe I should just turn back and scavenge like everyone else, maybe I should just drown myself in this river and save myself the pain that would come with hunger and illness. My thoughts became more and more negative with each throw and I became more and more hungry as the day waned.