Survive for Another Time

Chapter 35

Clarke woke up to her third day on the earth when Wells shook her. Seeing him alive on the day she was supposed to find him dead was a relief. It was also when she realized that today was the first day the acid fog would come and Atom would be mortally wounded. She was then supposed to stop his suffering and break Octavia's heart. Things through did not go the same.

The day started with another healing lesson with Charlotte as apparently one of those who got water daily from the river had encountered the giant snake that had gotten Octavia the first time around. The adolescent turned out to be no other than Atom.

The giant anaconda had contracted on his leg so fiercely that many muscles were bruised. She made sure that no bones were broken and forced Charlotte to feel where she had found a minor internal bleeding that she had then relieved pressure from through a small cut. The girl had shied from the touch at first but then Atom did that charming smile that had attracted Octavia and Charlotte suddenly couldn't wait to be close to him. The girl's attitude had made Clarke and Atom share a smirk.

To Clarke's surprise Atom had succeeded in killing the anaconda with a makeshift knife and had asked her how to prepare it. However beyond skinning it scales Clarke knew nothing of how to proceed. She did suggest cleaning it of anything that resembled poison glands in case anaconda's had developed any in the last century and twirling it on a straight stick. To thank her for examining him Atom gave both Clarke and Charlotte a slice of the snake meat. It had a bland taste and seriously lacked spices, felt as fibrous as chicken but was still better than though and tense meat of the panther.

After breakfast the girls' day truly started. They proceeded with smoking the left-over meat of the panther under the gaze of Clarke's faithful students as she did not want to risk attract insects to the meat and spoil it.

After that Clarke showed Charlotte the most disgusting thing she would ever see and, in the process, lost all of those who were watching.

She showed Charlotte how to use the panther's brain.

Not only that but she had her squish it bare handed until it was a grey and pink goo and made her use it to slather the inside of the three pelts, dispose of it with a sharp stone and do it all over again until the inside of the pelts were smooth and tender. Clarke had prepared it so that the head was still atached to the rest and that it was split in its belly with the four paws at the four extremities of the pelt and the tail was still present too.

"Now this can no longer be considered skins but soft pelts. To get hard pelts you just need to boil the whole thing for half an hour. More than that and it will be too tough and you won't be able to roll it up. Pelts can be used for bedding, cover, tapestry and flooring."

"What about leather?"

"Leather is when you take of the fur on the outside and treat both side of the pelt. Just like pelts you can make it soft or hard and it color depends on the animal used."

"it's disgusting." the little girl complained.

"It's necessary as one day you might be confronted to a head wound and you need to know how brain looks like to know how grave the wound is." said Clarke scolding Charlotte for being childish. "But you're right" she added with a smile "it is pretty disgusting."

"Did you faint the first time you saw brain?"

"No, but I puked. A lot. Couldn't eat anything for three whole days and that was only because my father forced me to eat something."

After that the two cleaned up and changed from their disgusting brain spotted clothes and Charlotte retrieved the tired flower from hair, changing it with another half dozen while and yellow ones that she put in a crown smiling at it and calling her a princess.