Chapter 1: The Beginning
The first sensation to hit me as I woke up was the bitter chill in the air. A voice seemed to echo from the darkness of my closed eyes, “Say, you don’t look so good,” I could tell it was a man’s voice. So familiar, “You should find something to eat...oh, and find something warm.” A cackle finally made me open my eyes. I barely caught a glimpse of a man disappearing into the ground. Or maybe his own shadow? Not really sure where I were, I finally sat up and glanced around.
Snow. Ice. Silence. I were alone in a snowy forest with absolutely nothing but the clothes on my back and a survival guide on the ground next to me. Flipping to the first page, it read, “Gathering materials that could save your life!” I read it aloud, “Tie together s-some twigs and some flint and you can make an axe in a matter of mere seconds.”
Looking around, I could see a small dead bush near the base of a pine tree. I managed to stand up and wander over. I huddled and shivered to try and stay warm. The crunch of the snow beneath my feet seemed to echo in the silence of winter. I gathered up the twigs and searched for some flint. As luck would have it, I found some only a few feet away.
I picked it up, but I were feeling much, much colder. Looking in my guide, I found the instructions to build a campfire. Some grass and lumber shouldn’t be too hard to find, I think to myself.
The axe I made served as a very useful tool, and I spent most of my day chopping wood and finding grasses. The physical work warmed me up a bit, but the lack of food drained me as quickly as the encasing cold. The sun began to set fairly early and I quickened up my pace to avoid freezing to death.
My hands were shaking so much they could hardly set up the campfire, but with a flick of my flint, a blaze began. I set several more logs into the fire and enjoyed its warmth. Finally I had a moment to myself to try and understand why I were sent here in the first place. I were pretty sure I had met that man who spoke with me before, but my memory was hazy. A growl from my stomach interrupted your thoughts. I remembered the man telling me to find something to eat, but there wasn’t a sign of life in the dim evening light. I would have to wait until morning to search for food.
As I started getting tired, I swore I heard a rustle in a bush not too far from me. It was pitch black with only the light from my fire, but it barely reached the edge of the trees. My heart began to pound and a feeling of paranoia set in. What could be in the forest? It didn’t dawn on me until then that I were indeed out in the wilderness and something could attack me at any instant. I began frantically checking behind me and all around to make sure nothing would approach. I had no means of protection and I weren’t exactly a skilled martial artist. Hopefully my wits would keep me safe for the night, what little I had at the moment from fear.
