Chapter 14: A New Home pt.2

CHAPTER 14: A NEW HOME PT.2

Flashes through my mind's eye before I tuck back behind the tree, my feet pressing firm against the dark roots.

“Fuck me,” I grunt out as I ready my bow just In case.

“I assume you saw that too,” I ask the stricken face of the Watcher. With the typical nod in response I let out a pained sigh.

“Maybe we should loop into the woods and see if we can catch a couple on the outer edges. I don’t want to tango with that thing, unless we have to,” I finish.

Cody checks around the tree before giving me a thumbs up and darting further into the woods. Trying to match his quiet stride I follow the man.

——-

Despite our best efforts, we’re caught by surprise as three dinosaurs lash out from the top of a nearby hill. A small yelp escapes my throat as a burning sensation runs up my forearm. My bow slaps into the dirt as I pull away. A snapping jaw full of sharp teeth grabs at me as I hurry to work my spear free.

I’m pulled. On my knees, a pressure on my arm with a sharp ache deep in my bones. The kyp has my arm in its jaw and tugs with force. I punch, my fist slamming into its boney head. After three hits and bloody knuckles with nothing to show it pulls hard like a dog with a chew toy. I slide across the underbrush, as sticks pluck against my skin. My backpack is torn free and I slip my hand around my knife. Pulling it free I snap the pointed bone into the dinosaur's neck.

“Kyyyp” it calls out as it finally releases my arm. Blood runs down my mangled limb, but I ignore it. With more strength than I knew I possessed, I lunge at the beast, ramming the knife into its throat once, twice, five times before it chokes on its own blood and collapses. I look around from my spot on my raw knees.

I see Cody in the distance plunging his spear into the final dinosaur. His legs sporting slashes across his calves. As I realize I’m safe the adrenaline drops around me. Slowly the burning sensation in my arm pulls my attention as the dull ache turns into a piercing pain. My eyes well up as tears begin to stream down my face.

“Oww..” I look at my arm. The tooth marks are deep and blood drips from the open wounds.

The pain sharpens.

“Owww,” I whine as my breath catches.

I slowly move to stand, and nearly tumble back down. But with effort and slow movements I make my way up. Clutching my arm to my chest I make my way to my backpack. As Cody checks his own wounds, I pull a short length of rope and try to tie my arm into place.

With a huff I tighten the rope across my back and sling the limb to my chest.

“I’ll be okay, just get the dinosaurs and go back to camp,” I tell myself as I slip my backpack over my functional right shoulder.

Focusing on each step and trying to block out the stabbing sensation in my arm, I make my way back to my kill. Slowly, but surely I work the beast and it isn’t long before I have the guts removed. At some point, Cody came over and checked my arm, but seeing my focus on field dressing the beast he carried on with his own kills. Despite my singular dinosaur to his two, he finished before me.

I tied the feet with a longer rope and began dragging it. Despite the rope burn I’m surely going to have when we return, I keep pulling the monster. The task takes my attention away from my arm.

After making it back to our previous spot Cody strings up our kills into the tree before dragging me towards home. Apparently he didn’t like the way I was stumbling the last quarter mile.

At some point I’m laid back into the dirt in the teepee, Chris’s form hovers over me with a series of short piercing pain in my damaged arm.

“You just can't stop getting hurt, can you,” he huffs as if I personally wronged him by being ambushed.

With a glance down, I realize he’s stitching my wounds. Then Trevor is on the other side of me.

“Elizabeth, bite this,” he places a thick stick in my mouth. I follow the directions before letting out a small scream when Chris presses my arm into my shoulder. My vision fades.

——-

I wake up sometime later to John handing me some water and meat. They must have gone back for the kills as the meat is freshly cooked. I quickly gobble down as much as I can before turning onto my back. Each shift of movement shoots pain through my bones, but it’s worth it for food.

“Thank you,” I press out, earning a soft smile from John in response.

“Just take it easy now, Chris says it seems worse than it is. You’ll probably have some ongoing pain for a while, but shouldn’t have any trouble moving it around in a few days,” he says from his position kneeling next to me.

“Thank him for me too, if you would. I think I’m going to sleep a bit longer,” I say to the man as I struggle to keep my eyes open.

“Will do. Hopefully you can give us a run down tomorrow, Cody seemed a bit worked up,” He says

With a small nod I slowly drift off.

——-

In the morning I find myself near the river next to the now familiar sight of a fire. It rained lightly last night and a small covering of dew coats the earth drifting into a fog over the river.

“So, as you know, we made our way towards the beach by following the river. After an easy scuffle with a few ‘kyps’ we discovered what appears to be worked stone…” I pass the stone from my basket to Cody. “…we continued on until we approached the beach and discovered a horse sized ‘kyp’. This earned us a system notification that named the creature an alpha, in addition to showing a level ten. Finally, we sidestepped into the forest where we were ambushed by a pack of the dinosaurs. Before I knew what was happening I had one clamped down on my arm as I struggled to get it off. Really, if I hadn’t had my knife hooked to my quiver, I’d probably be dead right now… that’s about it,” I explain to the group.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“You’re certain that this alpha had a level?” John asked.

“Yup, the system listed it right after its title,” I reply.

“Was this like a challenge rating? Like, you must be level 10 to fight this, or more like, this beast is level 10?” He follows up.

“Umm the latter I thought, but I guess I could be mistaken…” I reply as Trevor gets my attention.

“These stones, you found them along the river bank? I assume you didn’t see where they came from, given you haven’t mentioned it,” Trevor asks as he holds the stone into the air.

“Yup, we followed along and kept an eye out but didn’t see anything. Now that I think about it, it is possible that any structure was before the waterfall, and the river simply pulled the stones down stream. But other than the few scattered stones, I didn’t see anything,” I clarify.

“And if we try to get past the beach, we have to deal with numerous dinosaurs and the alpha…” Trevor adds on.

With the end of the conversation I slowly stand, mindful of my injury, and look for something to do. I end up making several fishing hooks, and a few bone knives over the course of the day. That night, instead of letting the nightmare get to me, I will myself into my dreamscape.

I awake with no pain. The usual light from the candle nearby spreads a soft glow through the room. And the furs of the bed softly pressing into my bare skin. I lay there for several minutes before testing my arm and to my surprise, the injury didn’t transfer here. I eventually stand up and check the mirror only to see the flashing orange-red light in its upper left corner.

-System Processing-

…..

……

…

-System Updated-

Status:

Name: Elizabeth “Lizzy”

Path: Survivor

Level: 5

Stats:

-Body(-): 0

—Strength(D):0(+)

—Agility(E):0(+)

—Endurance(D):0(+)

-Mind(-): 0

—Focus(D):0(+)

—Dexterity(C):0(+)

—Willpower(D):0(+)

-Soul(-): 0

—Presence(F):0(+)

—Sense(F):0(+)

—Energy(E):0(+)

Skills:

-Active: Locate Material (R/U)

-Passive: Survival Craft (R/U)

-Passive: Bow Hunting (R/U)

Points: 2

Level 5 already? I haven’t done anything special these last few days. I glance over my options, tapping on the ‘R/U’ prompts me to replace or upgrade a given skill. With the upgrade costing a whole 10 points. That’s not happening.

Wish I knew what these letters meant. I try focusing on them to know avail. Poking them does nothing, finally I just ask the mirror. “What do the stats mean?”

-System Error: Description not found in DataBase-

“Why don’t you have the description?” I exasperatedly let out at the mirror

-Warning: System Access minuscule-

“Well, Is there a way to increase system access?!” I shout at the object.

-Quest Provided-

…..

….

..

Quest Log:

-System Access:

— Find and Calibrate local Exchangers

—-Closest exchanger within 20 miles

“Wow, so helpful, not even a direction.” I throw my hands up, totally done with the mirror.

“Just show me my status,” I say to the mirror.

The image shifts back, the words flowing like ash in the wind. I check over each stat and think about the best way to survive. I’ve managed to push through most of what we’ve come across, the biggest issues are my lack of physical might and my body’s durability. It’s gotta be strength and endurance then?

Not letting myself over think things, I toss the points into their respective slots and accept the prompt. I don’t feel any changes come over me, but I think that’s from the dreamscape.

Moving on from the mirror I approach the workshop, the table still sits beneath my bow, as the grindstone rests in the corner. I find a leather wrap that looks like it should carry something, along with my knife, and a few baskets.

I leave the room with a plan In mind, but am stopped after I step outside. A small fenced area with what looks like a large chicken coop is to the left of the cabin. Looking it over, it appears empty, so I move on. I gather what downed branches I can and begin piling them into the leather carrier.

After filling up on the wood I head back to the workshop and begin making basic arrow shafts. Instead of using a binding agent I simply slit the ends of the arrows into points and ignore the lack of fletching. Soon I have 20 arrow shafts ready and take them and the bow out back.

I spend the remaining time in my dream state practicing my archery. Without fletching, the arrows don’t fly right, and I have to compensate for the changes. I practice until my vision turns black and I find myself asleep under the teepee. The sounds of the nearby river flow through my ears as I work my way out to the now cleared river bank.

With carefully placed steps, I slide into a shallower section of the river that the boys worked into a little pool. I quickly clean myself with my good hand before heading toward the fire.

Jamie’s music soothes my mind as I gnaw on some jerky. The boys are finishing the shelter today, while I plan on checking out the immediate area. I won’t go too far given my wounded arm, but I think it’d be good to familiarize myself with the immediate surroundings.

I wander through the tree line, staying within a few hundred feet of the river while wandering away from the beach. I keep an eye on my surroundings, noting the various flora.

It hasn’t been till now that I’ve really taken the time to look around the forest. The sheer variety of trees is surprising to me. To be fair, I haven’t put a lot of attention into trees during my life. I find at least four varieties of tree just by glancing around.

During my hike I come across various small plants, and several of the berry bushes. Chris never said if these were edible. I think as I grab a handful of the red and blue berries. I try to avoid touching too many strange plants, but a few get my attention.

That one kind of looks like parsley… oh and this one looks like a tea plant I saw at Eric’s Garden Supply. I tuck my fingers into the dirt and pull both examples out by the roots.

After finishing my little hike, I return home and begin repairing my basket from the damage it obtained during the ambush. It only takes another hour or so before I finish up. Although I do discover small pools of water in a few of my extra reed baskets. After dumping the fluid I drag them under the roof overhang of the shelter.

I take my time checking over my arrows and bow. Then move all my crafting tools into the new building. My arm aches but by the end of the day it’s moved from a sharp pain to a dull ache.

Upon entering the building, I see a rectangular fireplace that rests longways along the center of the building. The central area branches off into nine small rooms spread along the outer edge of the structure. Looking to the roof I see an open triangle of space on each end that allows airflow while still being covered from the rain by the overhang.

Tucked near the entryway is a couple days worth of firewood. While log benches rest along the fireplace. Finally, in the central back room there are several of my baskets, checking inside reveals stacks of dried meat.

In the first room on the left I place my stuff: three organized baskets of sun bleached bones, a basket of dried reeds, and my backpack. For the first time since arriving in this world, I have my own room. I rest my head on the woven floor and let the evening and night pass me by.