Seven Day Story Part 2
It’s about three hours later. I found a rotted trunk with a bunch of insects in it and ate a handful. I’m guessing the tree got struck by lightning or something. The bugs were pretty gross, especially the slugs. They burst when you bite into them. Luckily I knew that before I dove in, otherwise I probably would have vomited. I still almost did.
I rested another thirty minutes or so after eating and then hoisted myself to a standing position. I leaned against the tree for support and looked around for a piece of wood I could turn into a walking stick. While gathering firewood I found one that would work, so I hobbled a few feet over to some brush, pulled a few handfuls and tied it to the bottom of the stick with some of my climbing rope to make a broom. There was quite a bit of debris on the ground and in order to pitch my tent I had to clean it up. Being so unsteady on my feet it probably looked like I was dancing with the broom.
It took about forty-five minutes to get everything where it needed to be, but I managed to do it. Once the tent was up I brought my gear inside and reopened the first aid kit. My dressing was completely saturated with blood. My girlfriend, Siobhan, told me that I should always pack extra gauze when I go. She got hooked on those survival shows when we started dating and said that some of the injuries were pretty grotesque. I didn’t think I needed extra, but I put it in there to appease her. I’ll have to thank her if I make it back.
The sun began to drop in the sky about twenty minutes ago. My leg is redressed and it hurts more than anything else I’ve encountered so far in life. I had to push the bone back toward the inside of the leg when I wrapped it up, and I felt the worst burning sensation you can imagine. It tore throughout my entire body, and by the time I finished wrapping it felt like I had just rebroken it. I found a bottle of ibuprofen in my gear but it isn’t even touching the pain. At least I don’t feel like it is.
The temperature has dropped significantly in the past two hours. It’s only late September so it shouldn’t be too bad, but it feels unseasonably cold. I think the little bit of fever I had coming on before the ibuprofen has something to do with that. One of the two water bottles is gone now, and the pool I filled up at is over six miles away. The plan was that Siobhan would send an extraction team at twelve days. If I left the area I was supposed to leave a signal that I would be back, and if I wasn’t present by the fourteenth day they would send out a search party.
I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back to the extraction zone.
People always say you have to stay positive in these kinds of situations. It’s easy to say that, for sure, when you’re in the comfort of your own home. I used to watch some of those survival shows I mentioned with Siobhan and say things like, “I could do that faster than him,” or, “I know a more efficient knot for that scenario.” I look back at those moments of smugness and almost catch myself laughing as I sit in near darkness with no fire.
I suppose I’ll get around and start this fire before I can’t see anymore. I have enough wood to hopefully last the night. A little light and warmth should do me good. I’ll sharpen some spears while I get the fire going so I can try to hunt some small game in the morning. Wish me luck. Hopefully, if I actually do get lucky no one will have to read this.
