My name is Wilson.
That is all I remember. I woke up on the floor of an unfamiliar wilderness. My head pounds as I write this. I feel like someone was just here. It may just be my imagination. All I seem to have are the clothes on my back, this notebook, and pencil. There is no sign of civilization. I don’t hear car horns, or a bustling city. I am alone with my thoughts. I must record them in this journal fearing I could lose my humanity. Maybe this can be therapeutic, but I fear this is a journey where I will not return home. This will be the chronicle of my adventure of survival. It is morning and shelter is my only thought.
I did not know where to start. I had nothing. I spun in a circle with my arm extended. Where I stopped is the direction I went. It felt like I was walking for days. Mainly because of the silly spinning I just did, but also because I felt so exhausted. I came across water, but I was on a cliff so jumping and swimming was out of the question.
Further going north I stumbled across some bones. Whether they were human or not I was unsure. I just thought to myself, “Better him than me”. Next to the pile was a shirt made of grass. It didn’t seem very sturdy, but hey, clothes are clothes, I was in no place to complain.
After wading myself through the patches of trees I came across some flint, wood, and plenty of crab grass I could use for a fire tonight.
The midday sun is directly above me which means the day is halfway gone. All I have discovered was some fire making materials and a grass shirt. I couldn’t shake the image of the pile of bones I saw earlier. Could that be me eventually? Who was that person? I guess I will never know, but the morbidity idea behind it is staying with me. I was able to find a large forest that seemed to have bustling wildlife. Mainly different birds, if I had a way to hunt I could use them for food. I found some more flint; these pieces were larger than the ones I came across earlier. I even found some sturdier branches. I decided to make myself some tools to survive. I had to try; even if they broke I know I could find a way to make it better. I was able to make an Axe and a Pickaxe. Their uses would prove to come in handy. I was able to cut down some small trees for wood. I was glad the axe was working. Granted, it took me a few tried to make it not break on the first swing.
As I traveled, I was able to forage some berries and carrots. I thought about eating everything because I was hungry. Cutting down the trees was exhausting. The thought then came across my mind that I would be in this for the long haul and I should ration what I eat. I began to think this whole day as a dream. But then if this was a dream, why am I self-aware and why do I have the urge to eat? It seems silly as I write this but I decided to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. I do not know if that is real or not, but I tried, and I am still here.
I stopped to take a break. My arms and leg felt like they were on fire. I could barely move when I sat on the soft grass. I look to the west and I see something odd. It was not a mountain, but it was a field of boulders. It seemed rather odd. I looked through my stuff and I noticed I was running low on materials to make my axes and pickaxes. I decided to use the pickaxes and pick off some rocks and flint. Part of me was hoping to find something more valuable, like gold. But what would I do with precious metals in this situation?
It was getting late. The sun was almost setting and I still had not found a place to rest. I gave up in the idea of finding a cave and I just needed some clearing to make my fire and wait out the night. Luckily I was able to find a big open field of grassland. I thought this was perfect. I set up the logs and twigs to have my fire started but there was still daylight so I didn’t light it. I felt compelled to go exploring some more. I was low on food from earlier so I went and searched for more berry bushes. I came across some seeds and what looked like edible flowers. I didn’t find much food after a while of searching.
It got black, I panicked.
I didn’t know what to do. I was totally lost in this dark world. I quickly made myself a torch but not before something brushed up against me. It felt rather large. After a second it came back and bit me, pretty hard too. I cannot recall what the body of the animal felt like. All I know is that I wanted to get the hell out of dodge. I never felt such fear before. I was scared before, but all I had to worry about before was long-term. This was immediate danger. Something was out in the darkness to kill me. It wanted to eat me; it has to survive, just like me.
I do not know what scared it off. When it bit me I got the torch lit, I guess the light scared it off. I looked around for it, but the torch didn’t offer much light. I was able to get my bearings and I made it to my campsite. I used to torch to start the fire and I recorded my day in this journal.
There is something off about this kind of darkness. Like something or someone is watching me just far off to see me, but I cannot see them. I feel as though if I leave this fire, that thing will come back and finish the job. I do not know what is in store for me tomorrow. I do not even know if I will last the night. As I put the last log of the night on the fire. I hope that it lasts while I sleep, because now, the fire is the only thing I trust. Maybe this nightmare will end. Dear god I hope so.
