Now, when I read that message, I found myself with more than a little bit of anger, and perhaps I’d a bit of rage. First, I was a human, with no idea what a wild human was; second, it was clear I could read. I was reading the message that was in front of me just fine. I’d been able to read as long as I could clearly remember anything. Which I guess since I couldn’t remember the past nine months at least meant less. However, I knew that I could read, and I was currently reading a message telling me that I was Illiterate! I was so mad at the messed-up thought of me not being able to read that I stood and threw the book at my pack and yelled, completely forgetting the idea that I was trying to escape people and there was a wolf nearby.

“How a dumb Heads up display can tell me in writing that I can’t read? That would be like telling me I can’t learn music because I’m deaf!” I yelled while I paced.

After a few moments, I regained my temper, which seemed like it was a bit out of control, and replaced everything in the pack. I picked it up and placed it on my shoulders.

With the idea that I had escaped from someone and that there was a wolf that was strangely attached to items, I got moving again. I figured that I’d head in the same direction that I had been going for no reason other than the wolf. Where I was wouldn’t work for me, I was on the run, at least I thought I was, and I also had to provide for myself.

I had water and a way to start a fire, but I had no food or shelter, and the water I had wouldn’t last long. I’d no knife, compass, tent, or medical supplies. That meant that I needed to figure out where I would get water, and the sooner, the better.

The thing I had going for me was that it was spring and so I didn’t have trees blocking my view. What I had going against me was the whole ‘no idea where I was’ thing and the assumption that I was being chased. I started out hoping to find water or signs of water, and I was keen to also make sure that I’d know if someone was out to find me.

I looked up, and the large sun was now about straight-up, which meant that I was about half done with the day. I kept trudging along as I was moving up the valley. It would have been nice if I’d footgear, but at least my feet were toughed up now.

When I got to the top of the slope, I looked back down at where I came from and saw that the valley was at least five miles across of nothing but trees. On the other side, the ground smoothed out for aways, so I couldn’t see very far from this point. I thought it might not even be the actual edge of the valley, just a false edge that went longer than I could see.

I welcomed the break from the climb. I kept moving where I thought west was. I was able to cover a lot of ground now that I wasn’t climbing. I was still looking for someplace where I could find water or trees with fruit. I’d seen some berries, but I knew that you’re more likely to find berries that are out to kill you than tree fruit I passed on them. As the day was winding down, I came across the best thing, a small brook!

I ran to the brook and dropped down to my knees, and started to drink. I knew from what I could see that there shouldn’t be much of an issue of getting sick from the water since it was a fast-running stream. After drinking my fill straight from the brook, I started to wash my hands and face. From the hike, I was too dirty to be happy.

I then filled my waterskin from the deepest spot in the water. I wanted to make sure I kept as much water as I could with me if I had to run again. It was only because I had a full waterskin that I’d been able to cover as much ground as I did.

After taking care of my water needs, I looked around to see if there was someplace where I could make a camp for myself. I knew that it was getting dark soon and that I’d need to either make a spot to sleep or make a fire. The problem with a fire was that I’d give away my position with the light and the smell.

I chose to see if I could secure a safer spot to sleep. Near the brook was more undergrowth than there had been in the rest of the forest as there was a natural break in the trees. I saw that next to one of the trees were some large rocks and even larger bushes. I remembered when, as a kid playing in big bushes and knew that I could find a place to wedge myself into between the rocks and bush.

When I got up to the rocks, or perhaps I should have called them boulders, I saw just what I’d hoped to find. The bush’s branches had grown around the boulder and had created a dead area where the top of the bush had leaves, and so did the front and back, but the branches in the middle had died off due to the lack of light.

I knew I would need to cut some of the bigger branches. I looked by the brook for a passable hand-sized rock. I was looking for one that had a natural wedge shape. It took me a while to find what I was looking for. People used to knap rocks to put a better edge on them; the last time I tried that, I ended up smashing my hand with the rock I was using to break. Granted, I was a kid when I did that, but I didn’t want a repeat here because I lacked a first aid kit.

I climbed into the bush with my stone hand axe and started to remove the branches from the inside. Since this was a large bush and the branches had been helpful to the bush until a few years ago, they were all rather large at the base, about 2 to 4 inches thick. I started by using my hands to break the thin parts so that I could move in and have room to work on the bigger sections of the bush. I hoped to use the cut branches to help close off how I came in so that larger creatures wouldn’t get in that night as I rested.

I didn’t expect anything, but I also knew somehow that there were packs of rat-type things that hunted in these woods. This was one of those “I knews” that has been popping up all day that made little to no sense. Rats that ran in packs and hunted, and the feeling or memory I’d was saying they were about the size of dogs too. That made no sense to me, but I still needed to see if I could hide because what did make sense was people were looking for me.

It took me about an hour which was the rest of my easy light, to get my bush cave cut out and the branches moved to make a loose wall stack blocking the way in. I then took the time to lay out my sleeping fur and then rolled up my bag for a pillow, and laid down for the night.

I got another pop-up from the book. This time I didn’t scream, but I was still startled.

By your actions today

You have increased your level in survivalist! (level 2)

New knowledge has been granted to you!

Natural Shelter skill unlocked (level 0)

Hiking skill unlocked (level 0)

Climbing skill unlocked (Level 0)

Primitive tools unlocked (level 0)

With that message, I’d this feeling of understanding that the branches that I moved for my wall wouldn’t hold out any predators that could fit past the other branches since I didn’t anchor them.

I started to use my hand axe to dig into the ground behind the branches to turn some of them into spikes as the knowledge suggested. I kept working on it for a good two hours till all the twilight was gone. I stopped knowing that now was the time to be quiet as I didn’t want to alert anything that came out at night where I was.

I started to worry and think through where I was and what I was doing here. Then, finally, it dawned on me that while the bush was a fantastic place to play and hide as a kid, it wasn’t the same thing as shelter from the rain as some of the water would still come down on top of me.

It also wouldn’t keep out the small animals that might find me. By staying close to the brook, I increased my chances of being found because everything needed water, so the local predators would come by. I settled in for the night as ready as possible and hoped my sleep would be undisturbed. I hoped that the wolf was happy with my belonging and wasn’t following me.