I wanna live in the forest forever
- Joe Duplantier
I remember that day like it was yesterday. Unfortunately, I have no idea exactly how long ago it was. I think... 5 winter cycles? So 5 years... That day of my 18th birthday. My step-dad took me shooting. It was fun, and I was surprisingly good at it. Yet, for some reason, things didn't work out for me. The moment I grabbed another gun, it all went white.
After that I can only remember the accursed forest. The place I survived in - somehow - for 5 years.
It was hell.
5 years ago
Eyes aching, I vigorously blinked them, trying to get this infernal white out of my view. Rubbing my eyes for good measure I slowly opened them. Only to see dense forest all around me.
"What the fuck...?" I looked around and only saw more forest. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" I shouted. Panicking, I swirled my head around in all directions, trying to look for a sign. A sign that this was all fake.
Not seeing anything but forest, I bolted. I ran in any direction for a few minutes before stopping. Panting I took another look around. Okay Julian, calm down. I need to find a way out of here but I can't do that if I'm panicking. I took a few deep breathes to calm myself. Okay, first order of business.
I made a mental to-do-list.
1. Search the area for any food. I'm fucking hungry
2. Search for water. That shit'll be helpful later.
3. Find a way out of this place.
"Okay, let's get out of here." I won't even bother thinking of a direction. I simply started walking the way I was facing.
A few hours later and I decided to stop. Tired, hungry and thirsty, I collapsed on the ground. Breathing heavily I wiped sweat off my face. Okay, so objective one is still in progress... Maybe if I had some kind of weapon... Looking around I spotted a large branch that fell off a tree. I got up and walked towards it and picked it up. I then started to break bits off to make it a suitable size. Lacking a sharp end, I looked around for a rock I could use to sharpen it. It took me a few minutes but I finally found one.
After about 20 minutes of grinding I finally had a sharp stick about the length of my body - 2 metres - to use for hunting. I still need something to use up close. I thought, so I decided to use the rock as a hammer for now, until I found a suitable weapon.
Okay, so maybe I should go all 'hunter gatherer' on this bitch. A rustling to my right drew my attention. Holding my makeshift spear in hand I faced the bushes. Out popped a small rabbit. It stared at me for a minute before retreating back into the bush. Well I found dinner. Never tried rabbit but I can't be picky. Walking slowly towards the bush I held the spear tightly in hand. Once I reached the bush I swapped the spear for the rock. Weapon in my right hand I used my left to bush the leaves out of the way, prepared to bring down the hammer on any unsuspecting victim.
Once the bush was out of the way I got a clear view of what was under it. A hole. A rabbit hole to be exact. If only I knew how to make rabbit snares! I was hungry and getting angry. I decided to completely uproot the bush and wait around the entrance to the hole.
Unfortunately for me, it took a few hours before the rabbit finally emerged. At this point I was so hungry I wasn't thinking. Acting instantly I leaped from the side and swung the rock as hard as I could at it's head. Only having enough time to face me, the rabbit had no chance. The hard rock connected with it's face, not fully killing it. Walking to it's twitching form I stabbed it with the spear. Now I had some food.
I then started to gather sticks for the fire. Not knowing where to even begin I simply followed Bear Grylls' example. I gutted the rabbit as best I could and skewered it on a long stick. Using two rocks to start a fire isn't easy but it's not impossible. It took me 10 minutes to get a small fire going, then a few more minutes to get a suitable fire. I then held the rabbit over the fire, slowly turning it.
Once it was done I peeled off the skin and ate away. It was alright but it was also terrible, but I didn't care.
The first day done, and my arms fucking hurt.
1. Search the area for any food. I'm fucking hungry - updated, still need food to help with the journey.
2. Search for water. That shit'll be helpful later.
3. Find a way out of this place.
Okay, time to check inventory. After I awoke the next morning and ate the rest of the rabbit - reheated using the ashes and some rocks - I decided to do an item check.
1. Swiss army knife - never leave home without it
2. Makeshift Spear
3. All-purpose rock
4. Two guns from the firing range. No idea what they are.
5. Three magazines for each gun. No idea how much is in each.
6. My wallet. No idea what good that'll do.
7. House keys. Currently useless.
8. Watch, which probably tells me the wrong time anyway.
"Well then... I need some water, bad." Hmmm... If there were rabbits near here then there must be some sort of water source. My logic surprises even me at times. Heading back to the rabbit hole I looked at the angle at which it has been dug. Following the slope, I looked for the second entrance. It took me about 3 minutes to find it but when I did I decided that I should keep going in that direction. Needing to find my way back I marked the trees with the same set of scratches. Three in vertical lines approximately 3 cm apart, with one diagonal through the three. I did this to every 3-4 trees, trying to make it easy for me to find my way back.
Lo and behold. 5-10 minutes of walking I came across a stream. Not thinking properly I ran up to the bank and took a big gulp of water. It wasn't bad but probably not clean either. After realising that I just took a massive gulp of potentially dirty water, I very nearly threw up. I need a way to filter this water. Or a way to carry it back to the fire to boil it.
What, I watch Bear Grylls, so what??
Completely stumped, I looked around for something to carry the water in. I thought about using bark but it didn't carry enough, I thought about wood but it would be hard to find any to carve into a bowl shape.
Eventually I did find a rather large branch. Using my all-purpose rock I attempted to cut off areas to make it smooth and smaller. About 10 minutes later, I had a branch as wide as my torso, as long as my arm and about as thick as my head. Using my all-purpose rock I carved a grove into the middle, making a kind of bowl. This took a total of 4 hours, my lack of experience and fatigue factored into this.
Taking a fair amount of water back to my 'camp', I re-lit the fire and held the 'bowl' over it. Once it boiled and cooled down (which took a long time), I took a big gulp, then went to sleep hungry.
1. Search the area for any food. I'm fucking hungry - updated, still need food to help with the journey.
2. Search for water. That shit'll be helpful later. - updated, stick by the river.
3. Find a way out of this place.
Thus ended my second day in the forest. The rest of my time was similar, wondering aimlessly down-stream, occasionally finding food. There were some instance's that stuck out, but the rest... was all a blur.