“Logan, where the hell are we going?” My friend Zach asked me as we trudged through the woods near our shared home.
A tall man in his mid thirties, Zach had been discharged from the Marines when an I.E.D exploded next to his Humvee. His leg had been shredded just below the knee from the shrapnel, forcing the medics to amputate. He had been granted a new one made of titanium from the Wounded Warriors program, allowing him to walk almost normally again within a year’s time. However, he was still vulnerable to long distance walking, let alone hiking like we were.
“Yea really, man,” my other friend Ethan piped up. “We’ve been walking for almost an hour. Where exactly is this hunting area?”
It was only eighteen hundred hours when we left for our weekend hunting trip, using our time on leave from active duty to relax a bit before returning to Afghanistan. We were back stateside, in a town just north of Aspen, Colorado. The date was September eighth of the current year, and the trees all through the forest surrounding the town burned with bright orange and yellow foliage. Fall was here, but the winter winds weren’t far behind. Knowing this, I decided to use the time I had left from overseas to take my close friends on a little hunting trip to bring our time together to a close. Had I only known what was to happen… maybe we could’ve done something a bit more meaningful.
I sighed and looked back to them. Both were wearing a bright orange hunting vest, along with King’s Woodland Shadow camouflage jackets and matching pants. They also carried their choice of side arm along with their rifles.
“I told you it’d be a trip, but the cabin is only about another half hour from here,” I said reassuringly. “Come on guys, when you left for leave, did you leave your manhood with your uniform?”
Ethan and Zach both had a laugh at that before finally sighing and walking forward.
“So, what kind of game do you expect to find up there, Logan?” Ethan asked as he caught up to my pace of walking. Zach lagged behind a bit, his slight limp beginning to show as the soft clatter of his false leg made itself known with every step.
“Uh, Elk and deer I think. Maybe a bear or two if we’re lucky. I have an old Ford F-150 parked at the cabin we can use to haul our game back to the house when we’re done.”
“Uh, you got tags for all that?” Zach asked as he finally caught up.
“Of course he does, dude,” Ethan assured, albeit a bit hesitantly. “...Right Logan?”
“Duh, why do you think I said it?” I replied with a roll of my eyes.
“Because you’re you?” They both said in unison.
We all shared a laugh at that, walking onward to our destination.
My mind is brought violently back to reality as my right foot steps into nothing but air. The weight on my back and lack of energy from my starving state prevent me from correcting myself properly, sending me falling to my ass from my panicked overcorrection. As I lay there cursing my lack of concentration, I look up at the sky which is starting to turn a dull orange as the sun begins to set.
“Day five with no food…” I sigh to myself as I attempt to sit up. I look all around, seeing nothing but grassland and the occasional tree dotting the landscape. Looking forward, I see just what it was that nearly made me fall forward. A massive hole in the ground, easily as wide as I was tall and so deep I can’t even see the bottom.
“What the hell,” I ask myself as I lean forward to get a better look into the almost perfectly round hole.
I peek over the side, seeing the walls and the nothingness below. I can’t even begin to fathom what made a hole like this, but after meeting that pegasus earlier this morning, my mind is almost willing to believe anything at this point. The more I stare down into the chasm, I begin to notice ribs along the length of the tunnel. I slowly begin to realize that this hole was not made naturally. Looking around again to make sure I’m alone, I get back to my feet and dust myself off. The weather is only getting colder, and my jacket and pants won’t be enough soon.
I walk around the gaping maw in the ground, making sure to keep my distance from the edges in case they aren’t as stable as they look. As I reach the other side, a sudden rustle of the grass catches my attention. I look back toward the tunnel, seeing to my shock a rabbit bursting through the edge of the grass. It barely manages to stop in time, squealing as it teeters over the edge of the hole. As I see it, my mind only comes up with one word: dinner.
Kneeling slowly on shaking legs, I go for my pistol as the rabbit sniffs the edge of the hole. I'm amazed it hasn't spotted me yet, seeing as how I'm only mere feet from it. I slowly remove the holster guard with a soft rubbing noise of leather on leather, making the rabbit pause it's sniffling and point its ears toward me. I freeze, praying to anyone who's listening not to let it get away. The seconds tick by; Seconds full of worry and anxiety as I watch the first food in a week hop around the hole. Finally, getting the guard completely off the grip of the pistol, I pull it from the holster as smoothly as my shaking arm can. My thumb clicks the safety off, but the rabbit hears and its ears perk toward me. Ignoring the obvious danger of losing it, I raise the gun, closing an eye to aim properly. As my finger squeezes the trigger, the rabbit only stares at me and cocks its head, as if it had never seen anything like me before. The new sight would prove to be its last as my finger pulls the trigger, firing a round directly into its upper body. It squeals for a brief moment; The bullet throwing it into the tall grass from the powerful .45 round.
I quickly stand, smiling from ear to ear as I run over to the grass’s edge with renewed vigour. I slow as I reach the edge, looking around carefully for the hopefully dead rabbit. It doesn’t take long to find it, and I lift it by the ears. I sigh, seeing that my shot had gone right through the breast, destroying a good portion of the potential meat. In any case, the kill is a victory as I know I’ll be enjoying the spoils of my shooting soon enough.
“You doing alright, Zach?” I called behind us as I reached the top of the steep semi-rocky hill we were climbing.
“Oh yea! Totally fine! My titanium leg isn’t doing ANYTHING to slow me down!” He responded, sarcasm dripping from his words.
I sighed and sat at the edge of the hill looking down at Ethan and Zach, the former of whom was just now reaching the top. I took his hand and hoisted him up just as the rock he was using as a foothold gave and tumbled down the hill. He sighed in relief and looked down at Zach as the rock barely missed him.
“Hey! Watch it!” He yelled in annoyance.
Ethan chuckled a bit before getting on his belly and leaning over the edge, extending his long arm and using another rock as a handhold. Zach looked up and reached his own arm up, grasping Ethan’s hand just as the rock his normal leg was standing on broke away. Zach’s weight began to pull Ethan down, so I immediately grabbed his ankles and held on for dear life. The cliff wasn’t a straight drop, but steep enough to where if one were to lose their footing, they’d slide down a very painful series of thorns and loose rocks all the way to the bottom.
I pulled with all my might, heaving Ethan up over the edge and with him, a well shaken Zach. After Zach finally got to his feet, he tried his best to stop heaving in suppressed panic and anger. He adjusted his backpack and rifle on his back, sighing.
“I swear man, if there’s a trail around here that we didn’t take just so we could climb that damn hill, I’m gonna put my foot so far up your ass the water on my knee will quench your thirst…” Zach threatened.
I did my best not to laugh, shaking my head. “You really need to watch a different movie rather than Major Payne...”
Ethan did his best to hide his own chuckle as Zach scoffed. “We’ll see who’s laughing after I break my titanium leg off in your...”
Zach’s sudden trail off made me look in the direction he was facing. My chest suddenly felt like lead as my eyes fell upon a nicely made trail not fifty feet from where we were standing. I could only guess Zach was doing the same as I trailed my eyes down the length, seeing it curve in a gentle ascent up the hill we had just climbed. Knowing what was coming next, I slowly started to step away from Zach, my laughter slowly starting to etch its way through my tightly pursed lips.
“YOU BASTARD!” He suddenly screamed as he took off after me, surprisingly fast for having a titanium leg. I howled with laughter and apologies as he chased me up the next hill, followed shortly by a distantly amused Ethan. He didn’t want to admit it, but our banter made him happy he came.
I savor the meat as it falls off the bone into my mouth, allowing me to relish the minty flavor from a few mint leaves I had in my pocket. The mint, along with some oregano and basil I had found worked wonders as an impromptu dry rub. Luckily, the rabbit had boasted more meat than I had expected, filling my long empty belly full of deliciously roasted meat. There were no leftovers, so I knew I had to savor the full sensation while it lasted. Tomorrow would be another day, and through the night my body would burn through the food I had eaten like a fire burns through dry timber. As the sun finally slips under the horizon, I have a satisfied smile on my face for the first time in a full week.
I stare into the night sky as I lay on my small cot of leaves and dirt. The full feeling in my belly and my revitalized energy is keeping me awake, and my somewhat enhanced senses aren’t doing anything to help. I can hear all around me the crackle of my small fire, the bats that squeak overhead… even the light rustle of grass in every direction of the tiny clearing I had set up camp. My eyes scan the heavens, eyes darting from star to star among the millions. To my dismay however, I cannot spot any of the usual constellations from my previous attempts at stargazing back home. The Big and Little Dippers are seemingly nonexistent, and there is no North Star. Orion is gone, replaced by a babble of randomly placed stars that light up the sky like a poorly organized Christmas tree.
There’s a Michael J. Fox joke there, but that’s beneath me… I think with an amused smirk. As I stare, an idea slowly seeps its way into my mind. Within my backpack, I might have taken my IPod Touch with me when I left for the hunting trip. With that in mind, I sit up and instinctively look around before reaching over for my backpack. I open the largest pocket first and dig around. Only the metal of my compass, paper of my maps, and the leather of my skinning knife’s sheath grace my hand. I re-zip that pocket and go one pocket down. There I find a rock I had picked up from the trail Ethan, Zach and I used to get to the cabin, my knife’s whetstone, and… The hard Otterbox on my IPod. I take it, pulling it from the backpack with its long trail of earphones. With a smile on my face, I turn it on and look at the battery percentage. Less than sixty percent, but more than enough to give me some relaxing music. My brain yells at me that this probably isn’t a good idea, seeing as I was still completely exposed to any sort of dangerous animal who might be out for a nocturnal snack. However, I decide to let my logical side take the night off as I insert the earbuds into my ears and lay back. Using my backpack as a pillow, I allow myself to enjoy the first song in two weeks.
“Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? Where ya’ll going?” Applebloom asked as she hopped down from her family’s cider stand to join her friends. Sweetie and Scootaloo both sported their saddlebags along with huge grins and the fire of adventure in their eyes. It was odd in fact, that Scootaloo was up at this early morning hour, especially on a day with no school.
“Get your saddlebag, Applebloom! We’re going gem hunting!” Scootaloo yelled as she gave her wings a buzz and bounced a few times.
Sweetie nodded and her horn sparked to life with its jade green aura, casting a small circle of magic around them. The layers of earth showed themselves a few feet below the surface, bringing a huge smile to Sweetie’s face. “See? I can hold the spell like it’s second nature! All that Twilight Time really paid off!”
Applebloom’s face soon mirrored her friends’ as she observed the layers of earth. “Well I’ll be a… a…” She paused, unable to think of a clever wordplay. “...Me!”
Both Sweetie and Scootaloo looked at each other with raised eyebrows before exploding into laughter. Applebloom sat on her rump and blushed hard as her friends got their laugh at her expense. After a few seconds, she rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Aw come on ya’ll. I ain’t my big sis so I don’t know what ya’ll were expectin’...” She sighed in a rather unamused tone as she got up from her seat on the ground. They were only about a hundred feet from the farmhouse, so Applebloom elected to go alone while her friends caught their breath.
“Sorry Applebloom,” Sweetie piped up as she wiped a tear from her shimmering green eyes. “It was just too great not to laugh at!” Scootaloo nodded her agreement and quickly joined Applebloom on her right flank, and Sweetie ran up on her left.
“...Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of worry echoing in her voice. The slightly bigger earth filly turned abruptly to look between her friends. “Yea?” She asked them with a raised eyebrow.
“You alright? We didn’t mean to make fun of you…” Scootaloo said with her gaze toward the ground.
Sweetie simply nodded, nervously making circles in the ground with her forehoof. Applebloom’s steely gaze slowly began to lose its razor edge as her mouth couldn’t conceal her smile any longer. “Aw its alright guys, ya’ll know I can’t stay mad at ya.”
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other with a smile of relief as Applebloom wrapped them both in a big and tight hug. “Alright you guys,” she said as she let her friends go. “I’m gonna get my saddlebag and meet ya’ll out here in a few minutes okay?”
Her friends nodded and sat on her porch as Applebloom darted inside. Scootaloo looked at Sweetie interrogatively. “So uh, where did you have in mind to go gem hunting?” She asked as she adjusted the straps on her saddlebag.
“Remember that huge field we went to last year for your fourteenth birthday?”
“Yea?” Scootaloo replied as she cocked her head in curiosity.
“Well Rarity said that might be a great spot to go looking."
Scootaloo's eyes twinkled as she realized they'd be going on a potentially fun adventure. Her heart hammered in her chest and her wings buzzed by themselves. “Awesome!!”
Sweetie giggled as Applebloom galloped from the front door of her home, sliding to a dusty stop in front of her friends. “Alright Cutiemark Crusaders!” She exclaimed, standing on her hind legs and holding her foreleg to the sky. “Let’s move ‘em out!”
The all joined in, standing as tall as they could to join their forehooves in the air.
“Cutiemark Crusaders Gem Hunters, YAY!”
Its been two hours since I woke up from one of the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had in my life. If only I hadn’t fallen asleep with the music still playing, maybe I’d have more than twenty percent battery left. Feeling like an idiot, I sit up and lock the screen after pressing pause.
The sun was only just beginning to clear the horizon, and my little camp space is being bathed in dull orange light. Its a miracle I wasn't attacked by some God forsaken creature during the night, so I count my blessings for the next hour or so while I clean up my campsite.
As expected, a deep rumble from my belly reaches my ears as the burning sensation from hunger fills my head. I sigh, knowing there is nothing left of the rabbit. I find it surprising that the mint leaves tasted so good, even with the pocket lint. Usually mint messes with my stomach, but this time it apparently just didn't care enough to tell me.
I smack my dry lips, reaching for my canteen. To think I almost didn't bring this…
After drinking about half of the water I have left, I lay back to try and relax a little. The orange sky makes me somewhat smile as memories of my friends begin to return.
“I’m still gonna kick your ass, Logan,” Zach huffed in annoyance.
I looked over at him with a smirk and sniffed the air. “Right… Do you smell something burning?
Ethan scoffed and walked up between us, putting each hand on our shoulders. “Come on guys,” he started. “As much as I’d pay to see that I don’t think it would be fruitful to the hunting.”
Zach rolled his eyes and nodded. “It was a joke, dude.”
“Yea, we joke, Ethan. You ever done that before?” I added
He rolled his eyes before stopping and staring straight forward. The look on his face mirrored that of someone struck with extreme surprise. Zach and I looked at Ethan, then to each other, before finally following Ethan’s eyes to where he was looking. My heart sank into my stomach as I saw what loomed before us. The cabin we were walking to was nothing more than a smoldering heap of charred wood and ash.
I took off as fast as I could in a mad dash toward the wreckage despite the calls of my friends. I reached the front door, which was now merely a charred metal frame. I stepped through it, looking around in disbelief as the still smoldering remains glowed with red embers. I fell to my knees as I finally registered the extent of the damage. Our cabin was gone, destroyed in a torrent of flames.
Surprisingly, Zach was the first to reach me; The clatter of his false leg grabbing my attention from the wreckage. I looked up at him with a mixture of sadness and anger, completely unsure of what happened to cause the fire.
“What the hell happened?” He asked as he extended a hand to help me up.
I took it, squeezing a bit too hard from the anger and making him wince. He hoisted me up with my equipment, eyes still glued to the smoldering wreckage. Ethan finally arrived next to us, sharing our shock and surprise. After his initial observations, he put his hands up while taking a step back.
“Before anyone says anything… It wasn’t me.”