In the Forest Where I Live

Chapter 4

I spend the day hunting game birds and small rodents, getting ready for this week. I have a little salt left from my last trip into town that I use to preserve the meats I get. I pick berries and wrap them in cloth, refill my water skins, and gather fresh herbs and moss for small burns and wounds. I change a dressing on my leg from a wound I got from getting bit by a dog a month ago. It got massively infected. I venture further into the woods as I make my way to a fort I built a few months back. No one ever comes to this part of the woods, and there's a river, berry bushes by my fort, and lots of game to hunt.
I get into the clearing and make my way past trip wires and snares I set out for any intruders or passing game. I duck under my makeshift door of leaves strung together and enter my homemade living room. Cushions and blankets I found on the side of the road make a funky looking couch on the far wall. A handmade bookshelf of logs and branches stands at the same corner of the room. It's filled with books I've stolen from houses I've raided. There's a torn up and bloodstained rug in the middle of the room. I toss my bag on the couch and head to the kitchen. A little bonfire is set up in one side, away from the wall with a hole in the ceiling for smoke to escape. I stoop down to light it and then make my way to the table. It's a stump and a fold out chair but it works for me. A big hole in the ground covered with a board is what makes my cellar. I store my meat in there for the time being. I grab a bowl (stolen) off of a shelf I made and fill it with some blueberries. I head to my bedroom and flop down on my bed. Again, torn up pillows and cushions and blankets are all I have, but hey, you do what you gotta do. It took me a good 6 months to build and gather everything I needed, but I've never had problems with rain or snow, and no one has ever found me. I pop a handful of berries in my mouth and grab my journal off my night table (another stump). I grab a sharp pencil and start writing. I write about my feelings and all of my shit in here, then I tear out the page and burn it, getting rid of the feelings and making me toughen up more. It works. After I've finished my entry, I start to rip out my paper...but then stop. Maybe I should keep it. Just for a day. I shut the journal and toss it back on the stump. I decide to head to the stream to freshen up a bit and grab my bag again, tossing it over my shoulders and heading out of the house.
I hop over the final tripwire and start the 10 minute walk to the stream. I haven't been home in a week due to my last kill, I was unsure if it was safe to go back, and then, meeting her. Whatever, that's over now. I make it to the stream and strip down to nothing, slowly making my way into the chilly water. I sigh with relief as the water washes away the pain I've been feeling in my heart and clears my mind of everything I've been thinking. I relax and let myself float gently in the water, my dark hair floating around my head like a halo. I wash my face, my ears, my toes, everything and sigh happily. I haven't had a bath like this is ages. I start to get out of the stream but realize everything is missing. My bag, my clothes, my knife! It's all gone. I try to remain calm and look at the ground for tracks. There! I see shoe prints in the mud and start following them. I hear a voice and hide behind a tree. "It's the craziest thing! A psychopath with a home!  I thought they can't feel anything!" That voice...holy fuck she followed me!
I step out into the open, naked and exposed, but angry as a wolf. "Give me my bag back." I say slowly and angrily. She jumps and turns around. "Oh heyyyy." I take a step forward. "Give it back now or I'll break your other wrist."  I growl and take another step towards her.  "Fucking hand it over."  She takes a step back, holding my bag close to her chest, her limp wrist hanging at her side.  "Take me with you."   My eyes widen. "Wait what?!" She takes a small step forward. "Take me with you."  I shake my head. "Uh uh. I don't do friends."  She bites her lip. "But...I thought you said I could join you."  I sigh. "Change of heart. Now give that back and get lost before I have another change of heart and decide to kill you."  She tosses my bag on the ground and starts to swear, storming off the way she came. I grab my clothes and quickly throw them on, grabbing my bag and sighing, starting the walk back to my house.