by Kip Nelson
“Doesn’t that mean it’s going to be harder for us to get in when we come back?” Brent said.
“Yes, but it also means it’s going to put other people off. I’d rather come back here and have to move a tree than have to argue with people that this is our cave,” Darren said. Brent nodded.
“Well, we probably could find a fallen log somewhere, but what are we going to do about the entrance?” Brent asked.
“It’s a shame I don’t have my sewing kit and some fabric. If I did, I might be able to attach some leaves to a blanket and drape it over the entrance,” Betsy said.
“I guess it’s too much to suggest we gather a load of leaves and just pile them at the entrance,” Brent asked, half-joking.
“I think so,” Darren said, “but let’s take one thing at a time. We won’t be able to do everything we’d like, so let’s focus on what we can do. Let’s go find something to drag across the entrance. We always could use some more bramble as well, anything with thorns or prickles will do.”
Brent and Betsy nodded, and the three of them scoured the land around them, searching for what they needed to make their home safe. Darren looked at the huge fallen tree mournfully. If it just had been somewhat smaller, he could have dragged it from its position along the path across the mouth of the cave to serve as a barrier. As it was, they had to settle for a smaller log, one that wouldn’t pose much difficulty to pull out of the way if anyone was so inclined, and he imagined that anyone desperate enough would go to great lengths to get into a place such as the cave.
They made the cave entrance a little more intimidating by draping brambles and thorny branches over it, creating something that almost looked like a barbed wire fence. The air was punched by a few yelps of pain as they pricked their skin on the brambles. Darren watched blood bloom from his fingers, but he cast aside the pain.
They struggled back into the cave, grateful for their thick clothes, and began getting the girls ready. Tara and Michelle were proud of the efforts they had made to hide the food. Darren inspected their work and stifled a smile, for anyone could tell that the sleeping bag hid bulky items.
It reminded him of when they had played hide and seek at the house and Michelle always had gone to hide behind the curtain, not realizing that her feet were on full display, since the curtain didn’t reach the floor. Still, he wasn’t about to dishearten them. If anyone did find their way into the cave, it wouldn’t be long until they found the food no matter where it was hidden. So, he praised the girls and they glowed.
From inside the cave, the brambles and the log were a foreboding sight. It was difficult to get through the brambles, and their clothes were getting caught. Tara and Michelle really didn’t like it. So, Darren and Brent carried them through, lifting them up high so their faces were in no danger of being caught. Once past, the family stopped to look at their handiwork. Darren nodded with approval. The mouth of the cave still was visible, but the barrier in front of it was discouraging.
“Let’s hope this works,” he said.
He hoped nobody would want to go to the trouble of fighting through the bramble for the sake of one small cave. It may have been small, but it was the only home they had.
Chapter Three
“Where are we going, Daddy?” Michelle asked.
For now, she and Tara were walking along with the others. Michelle was holding Darren’s hand, and Tara was holding Betsy’s. They walked at a steady pace and veered away from the path, venturing into the woods. The air was still and a gray sky hung overhead, but it seemed calm. Leaves shuffled under their feet and the cold seemed to creep into their clothes, finding its way even to the most hidden spots. Darren couldn’t remember ever being this cold.
He scanned the horizon for any sign of movement, but nothing presented itself to him, and that was the way he wanted it so far. It unsettled him to have the girls out here rather than in the safety of the cave. If anything happened to them, he never would be able to live with himself, but he kept telling himself they were all together. While they were together, they were strong. It was only when they were alone that they truly were vulnerable.
“We’re just going for a stroll, Michelle, I don’t have any particular destination in mind. The whole point of this is to get ourselves familiar with our surroundings. So far we’ve been hiding, but what we need to do now is turn ourselves into survivors. We need to tame this land, like our ancestors did before us. It might seem wild and scary to you now, but we did it once, and we can do it again. Do you remember what the most important thing in the world is?”
“Applejack?” she replied after taking a few moments to think about it. Brent chuckled.
“No, Sweetie, not Applejack. Think back to lessons I used to teach you. What did I always say was the most important thing in the world?”
Michelle searched her mind to the past, and Darren wondered if she actually would remember. Because he’d spent so much time working over the past year he hadn’t had as much opportunity as usual to teach her.
“Do you remember I used to say that love was important, and family too, but one of the only things that you always had to seek was…”
“Knowledge!” Michelle exclaimed, her eyes lighting up when she finally plucked the right answer from the recesses of her mind. Darren was pleased to see that she remembered this, and he saw Brent nodding to himself as well. Betsy and Tara looked a little confused.
“So many of our fears come from the unknown,” he explained, “and the way to deal with fears is to face them. Right now we need to know what the surrounding area holds for us. We need to know if there are any dangers and if there are any safe places. As long as we keep our eyes open and we keep learning we’ll be able to make it through this. That’s what being a survivor is all about, learning and adapting. That’s what humans are best at.
“With the knowledge we gather here today we’ll be able to start putting together a map of the area, and eventually we’ll know the different paths to take, and we might actually be able to expand out and find locations to plant crops or hunt animals. Hiding from the truth is just as bad as hiding from the world. Take note of everything you see out here. Actually, that’s a good task. Let’s stop for a moment. Spend the next few minutes looking around, and then I want you to tell me what you see.”
The five of them stopped. While the kids all were looking at the woods around them, Darren was looking at them. Brent studied the forest with an inscrutable gaze, moving his eyes slowly around every part. Betsy was more haphazard, turning her head this way and that, her sweeping gaze taking in everything around her. The girls looked up and down and around, moving their heads from the ground to the tops of the trees, not really taking in as much as Darren had hoped, but they would learn. They were still young.
Tara and Michelle played the game like it was some sort of bingo, calling out everything they saw. Betsy and Brent were more guarded, trying to be more specific. They all spoke of rocks and leaves, trees, nuts that were growing on branches, nestled against tree trunks. They mentioned the sky and the sound of the wind whistling through the trees. Darren listened intently, nodding now and then, trying to get them to see beyond what was in front of their eyes.
“You’ve done a good job of noticing the world around you. It comes in handy. I’d like you to spend some time each day just being aware of everything. Notice the details, because one day they could end up saving your life. Once you know how things should be you’ll start to know when things are wrong, and in those moments it’s important to act quickly. But you also need to take another step in your thinking. It’s okay to look at the trees and the rocks, but also try thinking about what that means for us. What uses do these things have?”
The kids looked at him blankly.
“Okay,” Darren continued, “let’s look at some of the things you mentioned. As survivors we have to make use of everything we can find in these woods, and sometimes we might have to use our creativity and ingenuity too. These woods are going t
o be our woods, and we’re going to be able to use everything in them to our advantage. Everything has multiple uses.
“The rocks around us, for example, you might not think they’re good for anything, but actually they can be used as tools or to spark fire. We could pile them up to create a stove, or even one day build a house. The animals we find don’t always have to feed us. They also can provide us with warmth and comfort with their fur, and we can use their bodies as bait to bring in bigger game animals, which will provide us with more food.
“And take water. At the moment we only have one source of freshwater, but if we can collect rainwater and dew, we can purify it by boiling it, which means we won’t always have to take a trip down to the stream when we want to bathe. I’m worried because the temperature is dropping, and it’s going to be too dangerous to go out there to bathe. The chance of getting sick is going to be too great. The nuts you mentioned as well, we can eat them.”
The girls scrunched their noses up. Darren grinned.
“Let me show you,” he said, and gestured for them to wait there as he walked over to the nearest tree and pulled himself up using a branch.
He tested it at first, and although the branch wavered a little it did not show signs of breaking. He put his weight on it and pushed himself up with his foot. The branch supported his weight. He wrapped his arm around it and balanced himself there as he reached out with his other hand and snatched a handful of hazelnuts from the tree. He jumped down, landing with a thud. The impact sent a tremor through his legs.
He carried the nuts back, ripe and delicious, and showed them to the four. He was the first to pop one in his mouth and was grateful for the taste. The others were a little more tentative, but the hunger in their bellies urged them to take a chance. Brent was the first, and the others followed suit. They all decided that they enjoyed them.
“See? These woods have everything we need, we just have to make sure we know how to make use of it. So, we’re going to split into teams now. Tara and Michelle, I want you to hunt for nuts and berries. Remember to follow the rules, all blue, and no white berries. And although some red berries are okay to eat, we’ll leave those alone just to be safe. I don’t know how many berries you’re going to find, but you should be able to find plenty of nuts. Gather as many as you can but, and this is important, don’t eat any until you bring them back to me. Not all of them are going to taste nice, okay? And some of them might make you feel sick. I don’t want you going too far either. Always check that you can see one of us, and if you get lost, call out or whistle.”
“I don’t know how to whistle,” Tara said.
“It’s easy,” Michelle said, and put her fingers in her mouth. A sharp, piercing whistle cracked the air and Tara jumped. Michelle looked pleased with herself. “I’ll teach you,” she offered.
They went scampering away to examine some of the bushes and trees, trying to find a good haul to make Darren proud. Darren watched them, making sure they didn’t go too far.
“I’d like you two to keep an eye on them. You know what kids are like. They’ll get distracted and won’t even realize when they’re wandering off. Betsy, I’d like you to divide your time between them and Brent,” he said.
“What do you want me to do?” Brent said, as proudly as a willing soldier ready to do his duty, even if it meant charging onto the front lines in a hopeless cause.
“You’re in charge of fire and sanitation. I want you to gather some rocks and wood, and also find a way to collect water so we have a constant supply at the cave. One of my worries is that the stream is going to freeze over when we get too far into winter, so we need to ensure we don’t run out of water.
“We’re going to run out of matches soon as well, and I find that striking two rocks together to create a spark is a little more reliable than rubbing sticks together with some kindling. But there are plenty of both out here, so gather as much as you can. Try looking for any rocks with sharp edges as well. The more tools we can gather the better. Look for vines as well, or anything that can be used as rope, oh, and I doubt you’ll find any given the weather, but if there are any dry leaves we can use them as kindling.”
Brent nodded.
Darren looked around. “We won’t stay out here for too long today, but we’ll give it a good go. I want us to be able to come out here for a little while each day, and slowly but surely cover more ground.”
“What are you going to do?” Betsy asked.
“I’m going to go hunting. I think for now it’s best that I keep to finding the animals. I know that most of them will have gone to either migrate or hibernate, but I’m betting there are still plenty of critters out there waiting for us. And I want to patrol the area, just in case anyone is lurking around. You all have your duties, so we’ll stay out here for a little while and then we’ll head back to the cave.”
Brent and Betsy nodded like the able deputies they were. Darren left them. It would do them good to have a little independence, and they would need to learn how to take care of these matters. Because there would be times when they’d have to come out here alone.
Darren watched as the younger girls scampered around the forest, looking for nuts and berries. They seemed to be getting distracted by the pretty leaves, though. At least if they couldn’t harvest much they’d still be able to locate it, and Betsy or Brent could gather everything. He wondered if this was how humans had lived generations ago, with just their wits and their will to survive.
Darren took his knife out of his boot and held it tightly as he walked away from his family, circling around the perimeter to see if he could find anything to hunt. Finding an animal right now would be a welcome relief. Just the thought of sizzling meat on his tongue made his stomach growl.
Then he thought of the cannibals, and how they must have felt the same about human flesh, and suddenly the desire was gone.
Chapter Four
Darren had circled around his family and hadn’t seen anything other than a few squirrels. He thought he’d wait to catch one until a little later. Tara and Michelle wouldn’t like the sight of a squirrel being caught for dinner, although they’d have to get used to it soon. He hadn’t heard any alarmed whistles or cries for help, and so far this plan seemed to be a success. His only concern was about staying away from the cave for too long.
“Everything going well?” he asked. From one look he could see that Brent had formed a pile of rocks and branches. Betsy, at the moment, was with the girls.
“Look what we found, Daddy!” Michelle said excitedly, bounding toward Darren with her hands held out. She dropped her nuts, but quickly picked them up and offered them proudly to her father.
“That looks great! And you’ve been a good girl and not eaten anything, haven’t you?” he asked. Michelle nodded enthusiastically.
“Good girl.”
“Tara found something too!” Michelle said, and ran back to her friend. Darren followed, and saw that Tara had found some willow bark. The sap oozed out, which seemed to amaze the girls.
“It looks like its bleeding,” she said.
“It does indeed,” Darren said, glad she had found it.
The bark provided another learning opportunity, “but this is actually a really good find, Tara. This isn’t the tree’s blood, it’s actually sap, and it contains a very special ingredient. Do you remember the tablets you used to take when you had a headache?” Tara nodded.
“Well, if we put this sap into boiling water it has the same effect, so we can actually use this as medicine. We have to harvest the bark carefully, though, because we can’t just carry the liquid back to the cave. I’ll show you how to do that in a little while.”
Tara beamed with pride at her find, and Michelle was happy for her. Betsy was proud of her little sister too, and hugged her tightly.
Betsy and Darren left the little girls to their task as they went to check on Brent.
“How have things been?” Darren asked.
“Pretty good. The girls are
enjoying themselves, although I think Brent is getting a little frustrated. Did you see anything?” Betsy asked, unable to hide the worry from her voice.
“Only a few squirrels, which will make a nice dinner,” he said.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to eating animals like that,” she said.
“You mean the cute ones?”
“Yeah.”
“All animals are cute in their own way. We’ve just been lucky that we haven’t had to do the killing ourselves for a long time. We’ll soon learn to love them, though, for everything they can give us.”
They found Brent on his knees bashing two rocks against each other. As they approached they heard a cry of pain and then a stifled curse word. Darren was pleased to see Brent still had the presence of mind to prevent himself from cursing with Michelle and Tara around. A rock rolled away and Brent put his hand in between his thighs, biting down on his lip.
“Everything okay, Son?” Darren asked.
“No, this damned rock hit my damned thumb,” he said.
“Let me see,” Darren said, and practically had to pull Brent’s arm away. There was a red welt against the thumb from the rock’s impact. It throbbed, but after one look it was clear that Brent was going to be okay. “You’ll be fine,” he said.
“I know, but it doesn’t stop it from hurting,” Brent said, immediately putting his thumb into his mouth. He scowled as he sucked, trying to ease the pain.
“I know it’s hard right now, but you’ll get the hang of it,” Darren said, smiling at his son enthusiastically.
He hoped that Brent wouldn’t get too frustrated. Taming the wild was going to be a long process, and it only was going to be successful if they all were patient. He was about to sit down with his son when Betsy joined Brent and asked him to show her what he was doing. The effect was amazing. Brent instantly calmed down and went back to showing Betsy how he had been smashing the rocks together.