I
woke on the 21st
day to find a heavy chill weighing over me. It was the morning, but
this was no morning chill. I felt as though winter was approaching. I
hadn’t been near my Wintometer for some time so I wasn’t keeping
an eye on it. I walked away from my burnt campfire and took in the
landscape. That is when I noticed something rather peculiar; the
animals seem to have changed. Before, I saw only crows and red birds.
Now, I only witnessed blue birds flying around. Even the area around
me had this blue like color to it. Like the place is signifying that
it is getting colder. I am nowhere near prepared for this; I have to
get to work.
I
wanted to collect a surplus of firewood so I wouldn’t run out so
quickly. If I wanted to survive winter, I needed to make sure I had
the means to stay warm. I had to stay productive at the same time. My
stock of food was dangerously low. While I wasn’t feeling hungry, I
was going to need it through winter. I was in a Savannah like area
and the rabbits were still out for some reason. I didn’t have the
bait or the means to catch them, so I looked like an idiot running
after something I was never going to catch. I stopped to gather my
breath, and that is when I heard an unfamiliar noise.
I
wasn’t scared, curiosity took over and I followed the deep mooing
sounds to a clearing. I saw large silhouettes in the distance. They
were daunting to look at, but I couldn’t stop my feet from moving
closer. What I saw, was a supposedly docile creature. It was a four
legged buffalo cow thing with shaggy fur. It was built to last
through winter with its herd.
I
didn’t know how to approach these creatures, but I had to name
them. It feels odd, even writing this, but I want to call them
Beefalos. It was getting dark so I curried around looking for a nice
place to set up camp for the night.
As
I moved around the herd of Beefalos I saw a wooden wall. Upon further
inspection, this was a camp of sorts. It was manmade, it had to be.
“But, how could that be? Could there really be someone else here?”
I thought to myself. I had to find the entrance. My feet just took
off at blinding speed.
I
had to remain positive, “this place had to have been made with
human hands” I said. Adrenaline was running through my body, it was
carrying me all the way to the entrance of this camp. After a couple
minutes of running I came to the entrance. I froze. What was once
adrenaline was now fear. It went straight to my stomach and it was
like a swallowed a lead ingot. What was once excitement was now
anxiety.
I
took my first step, and the crunching of the dead grass was so loud
it hurt my ears.
The
entrance spiraled in and it felt like it lasted forever, the
anticipation was debilitating. I was growing colder and colder. I
could see nothing, no light from a fire, no chatter of people, not
even the sounds of the Beefalos. I peek around a corner to see what
was inside the camp. I saw nothing.
