Shrugging his shoulders and adjusting his backpack, the man sighed. He began slowly walking forward through the forest, wondering if he was making the right choice. He should have just stuck to the road and continued to try to hitchhike. Maybe someone would have picked him up. Two days of walking without a ride however, he decided he'd be better off in the forest where he could get food and camp out without worrying about anyone else.
After a few minutes more of walking, he removed his backpack and sat down leaning against a tree. He placed the bag in his lap and opened it up to rummage for whatever food he had left in there. He pulled out his waterproofed emergency first aid kit, waterproofed fire starting materials, tarp covering a spare set of clothes, and finally at the bottom found one last trail mix nature bar. Cursing his luck he opened it up and scarfed it down. Why did he have to get robbed at that stupid motel he stayed at? At least he had his bag with him when his room was broken into. He shoved the empty wrapper back in his bag and then opened up one of the canteens he had hanging on his belt. His belt held two canteens, a hatchet and a square pouch holding a military issued "E-tool". A collapsible small shovel that can be used for anything and everything, or so the legends say. Need to dig a hole? E-tool. Need to open a can? Chop it open with an E-tool. Need a girlfriend? Knock her out with an E-tool.
"Gotta find some water soon.." He said out loud to himself before drinking from the opened canteen.
Taking a deep breath and looking up towards the canopy he tried to remember the directions he planned for himself. Cross the river and continue north west until you reach another highway, cross that and continue northwest until you're on the outskirts of a town. From there you can figure out how to get in contact with Josh.
Josh, the only friend he had left. The only one who would talk to him after he was transferred. Josh was open to the truth and just playing his part in the grand scheme until he could get out without any problems. Josh was there to listen and offer advice, trying to do his part to help. And now at the end, the man could do nothing but hope that he could keep his word.
"Come up to see me. I have some friends I can put you in contact with that are on the right track. They could really use a guy like you. This time, it really is the good fight." Josh's voice said over the phone. That was the last time he heard from him, and his only option left.
Standing up again the man ran a hand through his short brown hair that was matted from sweat and pulled his backpack on again. He wore a thin black t-shirt, not the best choice for a woodland adventure, but it's all he had left. He also wore faded bluejeans and steel toe black hiking boots. He continued on his path silently, keeping an ear out for any wildlife dangers he could hear. That quick survival course he had been put through wasn't useless as he found a few edible plants along his trip. Learning how to test the water to see if it was safe to drink, or how to catch fish without a rod. All sorts of easily discussed things but harder to put into practice. Now he'd have to rely on his memory and luck in order to make it the next few days trip he would be making.
Another hour passed and finally the sound of flowing water could be heard. The man smiled half heartedly to himself and came upon a clearing with a deep chasm and a river far below him. Shaking his head and realizing that of course the map would say there was just a river, not a canyon with a river flowing at the bottom of it. Looking down then back up river he saw no sign that he could quickly go around, nor cross with a convenient bridge. He decided that going down and then back up would be quicker than trying to go around.
Rock climbing. Another skill trained into him, but with suitable safety gear and equipment. Now he'd have to do things the hard way, the dangerous way. Shuddering slightly as he leaned over the cliff edge he mapped out his way down the cliff and put himself in position. Turning around and getting down on his hands and knees he backed slowly off the cliff, his right foot started searching for the first foothold he marked out. After a few seconds he found it and shoved his steeltoe boot into the crevice. His next foot came down, looking for another while his hands tried to cling to whatever they could at the top of the cliff to prevent him from falling backwards. His backpack made for a very uneasy bit of extra weight and screwed with his center of gravity. Another few slightly panicked seconds later his left foot met with the rock face and he began making his way down slowly. His heart raced and his hands shook as they would search for another rock or crack in order to make his way down safely. He wasn't afraid of heights, he was afraid of falling from heights.
The moments it took for him to descend the cliff face seemed much longer than they actually were, and as he reached the bottom he looked back up. Standing at the edge of the water and the bottom of the cliffs he guessed they were only about fifty feet high. He turned around and gazed at the river. It looked deep, much deeper than it should have been. Then again he didn't really know how deep it should have been as this is the first time he's seen this particular river. He shrugged and once again looked around, trying to find some way to cross without swimming. Finding none he slowly walked forward into the river and began to swim across. It wasn't that large of a river, maybe about fifteen feet across, but it was extremely deep. He quickly sank to his neck after only two steps into the river and farther than that he couldn't touch the bottom. Standing at about 5 foot 9 inches, he was used to not being able to touch the bottom of rivers and deeper pools, but this just seemed extremely odd to him.
Upon reaching the other side he found the same problem of trying to climb out of this sharp drop off in the river and pulled himself out with a bit more effort than he thought it would take. On the other side he sat down, pulled his boots off and dumped the excess water out. He also stripped down and rang out all of his clothes and then put them back on. While he was doing this he spent his time watching the flowing water, looking for fish and other plant life in the river. After a few minutes he spied a few different fish. Reaching down with an empty canteen he filled it up with some river water. Opening his waterproofed first aid kit he took out a little white packet of water purification tablets and popped one into the canteen, then closed it. Packing all his stuff up again he turned around and looked up the cliff face. At least climbing up wouldn't be as nerve racking as going down since this time he could see where he was going.
A quick survey later and the man began to climb his way up the cliff face. At least this would make a good story for someone someday. If he was any good at telling stories that is. He never could get it right and he was never sure why. Maybe he was just boring. Reaching his right hand up he grabbed a rock. Slowly pushing himself up with his legs and pulling with his hands he placed his left foot in another crack. Then his right foot moved up and rested on another rock that was jutting out. As he reached his left hand up and pushed down with his right foot, the rock gave away. His eyes opened wide as his body slipped, his right hand now holding most of the weight when that rock gave away as well. With no other way to hold himself to the wall his center of gravity pulled him backwards from the cliff face. Suddenly as his vision filled with a view of the blue sky surrounded by the quickly moving walls of the cliff he thought to himself.
"This is it. This is how I die." He closed his eyes as the moments slowed down. His heartbeat was the only thing he could hear as he fell.
Splash. He sank deep into the middle of the river, through some miracle of dumb luck or divine intervention, or whatever universal force decided to spare him, he landed in the river. This wasn't painless however as his backpack jammed into his spine, his limbs and back of his head slapping against the water and his breath being knocked out of him. The sudden flood of water into his nose and open mouth sent another shot of adrenaline through his body as he tried to keep from inhaling more water. He righted himself the best he could in the deep water, opened his eyes, and quickly began swimming up to the surface. He was deeper than he thought, much deeper. It took an absurd amount of time for him to reach the surface. Upon reaching it he burst up and coughed, gasping for air. He bobbed up and down on the surface of the water as he closed his eyes, trying to regain his faculties.
Still alive... The man thought to himself as he surfaced and calmed himself between gasps of air and coughing up water.
Swimming to the side of the river, whichever side was infront of him, he didn't know and didn't care at that point. He climbed out upon reaching it and after pulling off his backpack he laid on his back. As he began to calm down, he realized something. Something very unsettling. He sat up slowly and began to look around. He was no longer at the same river he had fallen into. There were no cliffs for him to climb. He was sitting on a river bank in the middle of a forest, that was true, but the trees were different. Along with the grass and the sound of birds and other insects around him. Grabbing his bag and blinking slowly he realized he wasn't in the same place. There was however a redeeming feature of this new location. He was just inches away from a dirt path that came out of the forest on one end, then back in to it at another. It seemed like this was just some scenic travel route.
Standing, and unsure whether to curse the fates, or thank them for his situation, he headed down the path farthest from him. Wherever this path led there was certain to be some sort of civilization on either end. Even if it looped there would have to be some way to get onto it. There wouldn't be just a circle road in the middle of a forest with no access to it ... would there?
This place was strange. Much different than anywhere he'd been before. It was dark everywhere in the distance, just beyond the tree line that stood on both sides of the path, however it was bright enough for him to walk naturally. He could distinguish the patterns in the bark of the trees and different plants like he was walking in the field during the afternoon, however he couldn't see the sky through the canopy of the forest. Very strange indeed.
Continuing down the path he finally came upon a small rope bridge crossing another chasm. He shook his head and stopped at the head of it, looking down at the mist filled ravine below.
"Oh now I find a bridge. Lucky day for me I guess." He mused to himself, looking at the ropes that secured the bridge on his side.
He put a foot out and tested the strength of the planks. Gripping the rope rails of the bridge he began to slowly cross, making sure that he would be able to catch himself in the wood failed. Again he steeled himself against his nerves.
"This being afraid of of falling shit has got to go man..." He said, breathing out slowly finally crossing to the other side.
Now on the other side of the bridge he could see some ruined old stone building off in the distance. The path seemed to lead right there as there was a small gap in the trees that lead from the ruins towards his position. Now finally outside he could see that the sun was rather low in the sky and night was quickly approaching. He'd have to make camp at the ruins. Taking another few moments to look at the ruins, he couldn't see any other civilization, nor any other obvious road leading from there to any other direction. Tomorrow he'd have to head back and down the other way on the path.
"I knew I should have went left. Oh well no sense in complaining now..."
Again he went down the path. Another few minutes of walking and he entered another clearing, this time at the front of the ruined building. He looked up and around. Parts of the roof were broken, some of the wall had fallen but the doors were still closed. This would serve as a decent shelter, at least for the night. Pushing open the door with significant effort, he stepped into the foyer of the ruins. A very strange dais was in the middle. A circular sculpture with several small platforms extending from it. The man shrugged and stepped by it, entering further into what he concluded was a ruined castle. The roof in this room had long since caved in and was completely open to the elements, he'd have to find a room that still had a roof in case it rained.
The next room he entered was entirely different. This one, while the roof was missing, was full of tapestries and carpets. It looked like a grand reception hall. He could see two distinct designs on the tapestries, one was orange and yellow with symbols clearly depicting the sun, and the other was dark blue and white, with symbols depicting the moon. Despite being left to the elements these tapestries still had vivid colors and were mostly free from wear. He could tell they weren't new additions however, which made him even more confused at how the cloth had held up even after the stone of the building had begun to weather away.
After a few more rooms of searching he found one. The room was bare and left no hint as to its purpose, but it had a doorway and a window. He decided this would be as good a place as any and put his pack down in the center of it. Quickly going over the list of things he'd need to make a fire he pulled out his waterproofed firestarter kit. It was just a plastic bag that had a box of matches and a fire striker in there, but he decided to call it a kit anyway. It made him feel better about it. Moving over to the window he gathered up some rubble and made a circle out of the stones and placed his kit next to them. Now his task was to go get some wood and kindling.
It was dark when he got back, however the moon was full and the stars were shining brightly enough for him to make his way back to his little camp room. He was freezing however. His wet clothes clung to his body and each passing wind sent shivers down his spine. Upon returning to the room he quickly put some of the sticks and wood into the stone circle and tried to use his fire striker to light the kindling. Knocking the two pieces together for a few moments and he finally lit some of the kindling. Very tenderly he lit some more kindling and then a stick. After the stick he lit another, and then very quickly nature took over and the split logs and sticks went up in flames. Cheering inwardly to himself he smiled.
"I've done it. I've discovered fire. Now only a few thousand years more and I can invent metal tools..."
Sitting down next to the fire he took his boots off and then pulled the laces free. He put the laces close to the fireside so they could dry while he pulled his shirt, pants and socks off. He even took his underwear off and the clothes fell to the floor with a wet slap. Standing up next to the fire he shivered again. He picked up the laces and looked around for some place to tie them so he can make a clothes line. He found a few torch sconces with no torches in them and tied a bootlace clothes line. Placing his wet clothes on the line he decided he should check the rest of his pack.
The tarp was okay, but the rest of his clothes were soaked. So much for waterproofing them. The bag was soaked as well and he hung that on one of the sconces. His belly grumbled while he worked, but with no food he'd have to settle for water soup tonight. He hung his belt on the other sconce and took a canteen out of it's pouch and returned to the fire with the tarp.
Wrapping himself up in the tarp and staying close to the fire he warmed up rather quickly, sipping his water and looking between the fire and out the window. Hopefully tomorrow he could find someone who could help, or at the very least some food. All in all he was still alive so that had to count for something right? He yawned and scooted over to the wall near the window. Leaning his back up against it and ensuring the tarp was under him and still covering him he nodded off to sleep slowly.
